The Martin Girls
by Riana Salvatore
Summary: Cody invents a new machine to take him and Zack to an Alternate Universe where he and Zack are going to Seven Seas High in for the first time. There's only one problem: in that particular universe the twins are girls.
1. Prologue

I was sitting at home. It was one of the last days of summer and we're about to go back to school. My brother has been working on an invention/experiment pretty much throughout. I don't know what it was because I was always too bored to listen properly. I personally think that he was doing this because he was upset over his recent breakup with his long-term girlfriend friend, Bailey. Then again he was pretty neurotic before he dated Bailey and this could be just another of his weird things that he does. Whatever the reason, I was bored and I decided to go down to the lobby.

Downstairs was my one true love, Maddie. Okay so the two of us have never dated. I did kiss her once though, and it was awesome. I had been with a lot of girls but Maddie would always have a special place in my heart. Okay so she was four years older than me and I was still under 18 but that would only matter for a few more months. Granted, I won't see her in those few months but it will work out eventually. I just know that it will. I went over to talk to her.

"Hey, Sweet Thang." I greeted her. It was my pet name for her. She used to be annoyed by it. but I'm pretty sure that she's grown to like it.

"Hey, Zack." She replied. "What's up?"

"Cody's still working on that thing of his that he's been working on all summer." I told her.

"Did you ever find out what it is?" Maddie asked.

"No I've been too bored by all of his technobabble to ever fully listen." I answered. "Knowing him it's probably some sort of time machine so he can go back in time and stop himself from ever meeting Bailey. I swear he acts like she's the devil."

"So when did Cody become so crazy exactly?" She asked.

"That's a good question." I responded. "At some point he gained this sexist attitude that men are superior to women. I mean we are equal. I'll admit that while some women are inferior, there are also some men who are inferior. Like Cody himself for example, I'm pretty sure that most girls could beat him up."

"I would probably agree with you." She stated. "Maybe you should ask him when you go back up to your room what he's doing."

"I guess I can do that but there are other things that I want to do first." I replied. "For example, I'm going to the pool. I don't suppose that you could join me in a bikini."

"Not unless you want to wear one yourself." She replied. That did not sound comfortable. It reminds of that time a group of pageant girls forced me, Woody, and Marcus to have a swimsuit competition. Luckily we were only wearing our regular swimsuits…and shirts, which is good because Woody shirtless is not something that I ever want to see. "I also have to work."

"Okay then I'll see you around, Sweet Thang." I replied as I headed off to the pool.

When I got there, I noticed a few girls and couldn't help but show off my muscles a little. The girls seemed impressed. I debated going over to talk to them but I decided that I would let them come over and talk to me instead.

One of the two girls did happen to walk over. She was kind of short with dark hair. She actually looked a lot like Selena Gomez without the Hispanic part.

"Hi." She greeted.

"Hello, Beautiful." I replied. "What can I do for you?"

"My friend just dared me to make out with a stranger. I was hoping that could help me with that." She replied.

"I would be happy to oblige." I stated before the two of us started kissing. This was a very nice thing.

After the two of us finished kissing I decided that I should get her number or at least her room number if she was interested in any sort of sexual situation. Although, maybe the first thing that I should get from her is her name.

"I'm Zack." I told her. "I bet your name is as beautiful as you are."

"Well if you think Guinevere is then yes." She replied.

"So can I have your number?" I asked. "Either your phone number or room number would be good."

"Well I'm in Room 1234." She told me. "I was actually about to go back there now. Perhaps you would come back with me."

I grabbed my clothes and headed back up with her. I was glad that I had the thing I needed in my wallet for this. We managed to do the deed before her parents got back but she kicked me out pretty soon after that. I think I just got used. Damn it. Oh well, at least I got something out of it.

After I was done with that, I returned to our room to see what Cody was doing. I probably wouldn't be interested in it but you never know.

"At last, I've finished!" He replied in a Frankenstein-like manner. "My greatest work is complete."

I went inside of our room and found that there was a large machine. I don't know how he managed to get that in there or what mom would say about it.

"That's great." I commented "But what the hell is this thing?"

"It's my wormhole generator." He replied. That didn't exactly sound good. "I'm glad that you're here because I want you here to first use it with me."

"What exactly does this do?" I asked in caution.

"I've set it up to take us to a dimension where we would be attending Seven Seas High for the first time this year." He explained. "We would take the bodies of ourselves from that dimension and would stay there for a year and then after we come back, I can write a dissertation on it."

"Okay well I guess what the heck, fire that thing up, Frankenstein." I remarked.

He rolled and we both got in the machine and he then pulled the switch. There was a series of lights and we then appeared to be in the same room, only now the machine was gone.

Then I noticed that the room was different. It looked a bit like a girl's room. I also noticed my hair felt longer, my chest heavier, and my pants felt different. I looked at myself and what I was thinking was confirmed. I then looked at Cody, who also seemed to be a girl.

"Cody, I'm going to kill you." I stated.

So this story is partially based on The Suite Smell of Success. It will also feature on deck characters. The female Zack is played by Ashley Benson and the female Cody is played Aimee Teegarden. Also Guinevere is played by Lucy Hale. (Selena Gomez without the Hispanic) I hope people will review this story.


	2. New Girls

"Okay so I made a slight miscalculation." I stated. I surveyed what I looked like. I was still a bit taller than Zack. If I had to guess, I would say I was about 5'7" and he…well she was about 5'5". On that note, I should try to find out what our names in this realm are. I am 100% sure they're not Zack and Cody.

"This is not a slight miscalculation!" My twin argued as she threw her arms in the air.. "A slight miscalculation would be a universe where we are hipsters, not girls. Also you said we have to spend a year here? I don't want be a girl for a day, much less a year."

"Well whether we want it or not, we're stuck like this so we might as well make the best of it." I proposed. I then noticed that on each dresser was a purse. "We should check those out to see if we can find out who we are."

She nodded and grabbed one, not knowing whose was whose. She looked inside and found various cosmetic items before also finding a wallet. She opened it up and read the words on it.

"This one is me." She stated, showing me the picture. "Sara Leslie Martin."

"Then I guess the other one is mine." I deduced. Okay, so it was more of an obvious statement than a deduction. I opened the purse and went straight into the wallet. "Claire Rebecca Martin."

"Okay so, _Claire, _what are we supposed to do now?" Sara asked.

"I suppose that we should sort through our various things." I suggested. I'll admit, while I seemed to be calm about this, I was a little freaked out. The thought of having to spend a year in a girl's body wasn't that appealing. I don't think anyone would take me seriously as a scientist as a female. I mean I did invent a machine that lets you travel to a different dimension .

Before we could do anything, the door opened and another girl walked into the room. Wait a minute…could that possibly be? It's been a long time since we've seen her.

"Hey Sara. Hey Claire." She greeted. Since we were apparently girls in this universe, she didn't look surprised at all. I do wonder what else happened differently that caused Max to stay here instead of moving away. The Butterfly Effect is a pretty strange thing. "Do you wanna head down to the pool?"

"Sure but we need time to get changed." I replied quickly.

"Okay I'll see you there." She agreed, before she left the room.

"Why did you just agree to that?" Sara asked.

"We haven't seen Max in years and I really wanted to hang out with her." I responded. I didn't see any sort of problem with that.

"You do know that going to the pool means wearing swimsuits, don't you?" She asked. Yes, I'm sure that was implied. "And by that I mean bikinis."

Okay, that I wasn't something I was thinking about. I probably should have considered that before I agreed to it. Oh well, I guess the decision was made.

"Well we probably have some that we can wear." I remarked. "We just have to find out which drawer."

"You seem strangely okay with this." She commented.

"I'm just being realistic." I replied. "I don't want to be a girl, but there is nothing that I can do about it."

"You could build another machine." Sara suggested.

"It took me all summer to build the first one and we are about to go to Seven Seas High." I reminded her. "We're going to Sara and Claire for the next year so you might as well get used to it."

"Okay fine but I am changing in the bathroom." Sara replied.

We eventually were able to find swimsuits. Sara ended up with a pink bikini. I think this was because it was the first one that could find. I ended up choosing a black strapless one because I thought it would be easier to put on. It was easier to put on but it didn't exactly cover very much. Of course, I didn't realize this until I already had it on.

"I need to change." I announced as Sara walked back into the room.

"We've been keeping Max waiting long enough." She pointed out. "You know you're a hotter girl than I expected you to be."

I couldn't help but blush at that. The good thing about being at the hotel as opposed to the boat was that I wasn't in charge of cleaning up people's towels. They had someone else for that. I decided to wrap the towel around myself as we walked down to the pool. Sara looked at me funnily for doing so, but I didn't exactly want to walk through the halls with so little on.

We entered the pool area and I was able to able to spot Max. She was also wearing a black bikini. I never thought I would see Max in one of those. Perhaps she was less of a tomboy than she was before. I think that has been known to happen.

"Always the girly girl, huh Sara?" Max asked, noticing the pink that my sister was wearing.

"Well one of us has to be." Sara remarked. I don't know why she said that.

"So what's with the towel, Claire?" Max then asked.

"I didn't want to walk down the hall wearing a bikini." I responded.

"Well you could have worn some clothes over it." Max suggested.

"That's what I said." Sara said.

"No you didn't." I argued as I removed my towel.

"Well I was thinking it." She remarked.

"Okay you have nothing to be ashamed of." Max commented. "You're really hot, Claire."

"Thanks." I replied with a blush. "So are we going to do some swimming?"

"Sure." Max replied as the three of us headed into the water. "It's hard to believe that by this time next week, we'll all be on the S.S. Tipton away from our parents."

"You're going with us?" Sara asked in surprise.

"Yeah, duh, we all signed up together, remember?" Max stated. "We've been trying to get into this program since it opened and this is the first time that we actually get to go."

"Yeah I guess it is pretty exciting." I agreed. It kind of made sense here. I remember Bailey stating that all of the girls' spots were filled. That would explain why, as girls, the two of us hadn't been to Seven Seas High yet. This also made me wonder if Bailey had. Would I even see her there? I hoped not, even if we had never dated in this reality. It's hard to date someone that you've never met.

Later in the afternoon, Sara and I were back in our room. I had pulled up some YouTube videos for makeup tutorials.

"Tell me again why we are watching these." Sara commented as she ran a brush through her hair effortlessly.

"Because if we're going to be girls we need to know how to put on makeup." I replied. "And you should also learn how to accessorize."

"Well at least you can finally put your knowledge of all things girly to use." She stated. I think that was supposed to be a shot at me. "You know maybe this will be good. It will help you overcome your sexist behavior."

What? I am not sexist. It's not my fault that women aren't able to accomplish as much as men.

"I am not sexist." I replied in offense.

"Then why are we watching this video: _How to Apply Makeup to Impress Guys_?" She asked. "I think a basic video would work just as well."

"This was the first video in the queue." I replied. I knew it was a lie but I hoped she didn't.

"No, it was third." She pointed out. "Underneath _Eye Shadow for Beginners _and _Easy Makeup Tutorial."_

"You know you're very observant sometimes but not others." I pointed out.

"I also want to point out that I'm still mad at you." She remarked. "I think it's only fair that you buy me a nice outfit before we go on the boat."

"Why do you want me to buy you clothes?" I questioned. "You hate it when people get you clothes, remember?"

"Well if I'm going to be a girl, I might as well look good." She reasoned. "I also might as well get the hang of this shopping thing. And somewhat related, I need you to explain to me what shipping means when girls talk about it."

"It refers to pairing your favorite characters together." I explained. "From TV, Movies, and book…well TV and Movies since you don't read books."

"Hey I read _The Hunger Games_." Sara argued as she started to apply her eyeliner. She seemed to be a fast learner. "That also doesn't explain why calling it shipping."

"It's short for relationship." I added. "And reading one book doesn't mean that you're a reader because they are millions of books that you haven't read."

"There are probably at least a million you haven't read either." She remarked. Considering that I've only read about 800, she's probably right. "Oh and by the way, underwear is included with the outfit."

"Okay but I am not buying you one of those overly-expensive Victoria's Secret bras." I agreed. "But I suppose that you'll need help putting trying them on."

"No because, unlike you, I actually have experience with them." She remarked. I couldn't help but grin at the statement that she made because it could be taken in multiple directions. "By that I mean, I have taken some off. I also once had to help a girl put hers back on."

The next day, we found ourselves at the mall. Apparently Mom thought it was a good idea for us to get back-to-school clothes now. She probably would have said the same if we were still boys, but it was quite possible that we were more enthusiastic. This was likely from Sara's raised enthusiasm about buying clothes. I couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be involuntarily developing feminine mannerisms. I guess that was better than having to learn them, though.

Since we didn't go to Victoria's Secret, we ended up buying lingerie from a place called Aerie. It was spinoff store of American Eagle Outfitters. A weird thing that I noticed about the store was that all of their bras seemed to have girls' names.

True to my word, I did end up spending some of my own money to buy Sara some clothes. Aside from the underwear, it turned out to be only a dress that was royal purple and had a layered hem. I don't know why she so eager to get it but I didn't question it.

About a week later, this two of us and Max were about to board the ship as soon as it arrived. Sara was wearing the aforementioned dress and I decided to with something a little more subtle: a lavender tank top and jeans. The boat arrived and we boarded. I didn't know what to expect.

So I thought that since Zack is the more masculine of the twins, Sara should have that inverted and be more feminine. I haven't quite decided how I want to use Max in the story but she will be around. Also in case you're wondering, yes Bailey will be there too. So what's going to happen to the Martin Girls on the ship. You need to review to find out.


	3. School Girls

I walked onto the S.S. Tipton with Max and Claire. Yes I was wearing a dress but I figured that it was easier to put on than girls' jeans. Judging by the struggle that Claire had had with them this morning, I appeared to be right. All I had to do was zip up a zipper.

"Ah, it feels so good to be on this boat." Max commented.

"We should probably go to our rooms and unpack first." Claire suggested. "Though, we should probably find out where our rooms are first."

"I'm pretty sure that we find that out at the check-in." I remarked. I was positive unless they had changed it here.

That's exactly what we had to do. We went to the front desk and there was Mr. Moseby. He didn't seem like the overly hip version from that place that we went of Arwin's.

"Hello girls." He greeted us. "I know that we have had our differences in the past but I'm sure that we can put those behind us because you two have probably outgrown your mischievous sides."

Pranks weren't really something that was on my mind right now. I had pulled a few, but I hadn't done so lately. Sure, Moseby was fun to mess with, but being that kind of girl just seemed like it would be weird. He was right actually. Pranks weren't really my thing anymore.

I noticed that Claire and Max were listed as roommates. I was a little jealous because I kind of wanted to be Max's roommate. I checked the list and once again, my roommate was going to be Bailey. This was going to be interesting.

I walked to my room with my suitcase. I was pretty sure that Bailey wasn't going to be pretending to be a boy because she was in the girls' cabins. It would be weird actually sleeping in there. To be honest, I had never actually been there. All of the girls that I had slept with came to my room. This was easy because I didn't have a roommate to bother me.

I opened the door and found that Bailey seemed to be already there and unpacking. There was definitely something different about her. Her hair was kind of reddish.

"Hi, I'm Sara Martin." I introduced myself. That got her to look at me.

"Bailey Pickett." She introduced. She had the same Southern accent that she had when she first came to Seven Seas High but seemed to inexplicably lose at some point.

"So is this your first year here, too?" I asked.

"No I've spent the last two years but my roommate finally graduated and now I guess here you are." She replied.

"Gee, way to make me feel wanted." I commented. I couldn't help but wonder if I was charged with replacing London.

"Oh, sorry about that." She replied. "So do you want to divide up the room because I can do that if you want? By the way, I think that dress is really cute."

"Thanks." I replied.

"So are you here alone?" She asked.

"No I actually came here with my sister, Claire, and our friend, Max." I explained. "The two of them are rooming together."

"Ah, so Max is a girl then?" She asked as I nodded.

"Yeah, so you do wanna hang out?" I confirmed. "Maybe we could go to the game room?"

"Thanks for the offer but I really want to take a relaxing bath right now." She replied. Okay, I was a little disappointed at that. "Maybe we can meet somewhere for dinner or something?"

Claire and Max were actually not right across the hall but down it. Maybe I should have paid attention to the number. I guess I could go out to the Sky Deck and see if I can make any new friends. I took a seat at one of the tables while I waited for someone to come take my order. It was weird not working there. While I was waiting, I was a approached by a group of girls. In the middle was a blonde short was probably the shortest of them. On the two sides of her were a tall brunette, and a girl with short black hair who was shorter than me, but taller than the blonde.

"Are you new here?" The blonde asked.

"Yes." I answered. "I'm Sara."

"I'm Hadley." The girl replied. That was a kind of weird name but I didn't tell her that. "This is Megan and Giada. I'm talking to you because I'm the It Girl of Seven Seas High and I know how to make you popular."

Okay now this situation seemed very similar. It reminded me of when I first moved to Boston and was met by The Drew Crew. Of course that was kind of a gang. I didn't want something like that again.

"I wouldn't have to do anything illegal, would I?" I asked.

"No." Hadley questioned. "You just have to answer some questions."

"Okay." I replied.

"Who's your favorite One Direction member?" Megan asked.

I tried to remember who One Direction even was. Then I remembered that they did that "You don't know you're beautiful" song. I had seen the video once.

"Well I don't really know in their names but the blonde was kind of cute." I replied with a blush. It was a bit embarrassing saying that.

"Question 2" Giada replied. "Team Peeta or Team Gale?"

"I've only read the first book so Team Peeta." I answered. They seemed to be talking about shipping.

"Okay now last question" Hadley said. "What your first time like?"

They were assuming that I had sex with a guy. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to let them think that I had.

"Well it was a little awkward. I don't remember the guy's name." I replied. That was due to the fact that he didn't exist. "But it did feel really good when we finally got into things. Can I ask you a question? Why are you interested in me?"

"Well it's mainly because I absolutely love that dress." Hadley answered. "Do you have more clothes like that? By the way, you passed. Now we're going to the Lido Deck and work on our tans. You should go put your bikini on and meet us there."

I had brought two bikinis with me. I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to be a popular girl. I was a popular guy, but one of the reasons for that was because I was one of the first at the school. Here, I was a new girl, in more ways than one actually.

I wore the same bikini that I had the first time that I wore a bikini. I walked down to the Lido Deck. There were definitely stares and a few whistles as I walked by. It did make me feel a little uncomfortable. I mean I was thankful that guys thought I was hot but I did feel a little like I was on display. It didn't help that my hips seemed to involuntarily sway with every step. I know I was kind of acting girly. Part of that was because Max that I was supposed to be and some of that was my body moving on autopilot.

I saw Hadley and the other two in some of the chairs.

"Hey we saved you a seat." Hadley replied. They were all wearing bikinis like me but in different colors. "You have quiet the style."

"Thanks." I replied. I then noticed the towel boy, who happened to be Woody.

"Ew, you're not crushing on the towel boy, are you?" Hadley asked. Okay that made me wanna throw up. Just the thought of that, did make me feel a little sick.

"No, definitely no." I replied. "He…he just looks like someone I know."

"Okay, but just remember that girls like us don't date guys like that. Right?" She remarked as Megan and Giada nodded their heads. "So have you seen any guys that you like yet?"

"Not yet." I replied. I didn't really want to like guys. However, I think my body may have had other ideas.

"Well we'll just have to change that." Hadley remarked. "Hey the towel boy is looking over at you. Why don't you flash him a smile and we'll see what happens."

I don't why she wanted me to, but I did it and it seemed to cause Woody to trip over a chair. He seemed to be okay but he did lose his glasses. I noticed that the three of them seemed to be laughing.

"That's kind of mean." I commented.

"But it's still funny." Hadley pointed out. "You seem to have a lot to learn. So why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

"Okay I came here with my twin sister Claire and our friend Max." I explained. "My roommate is a girl named Bailey. Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I feel sorry for you." Hadley replied.

"Why?" I asked

"Because she's a poor farm girl." Megan replied. "She's here entirely on scholarship and we don't hang out with scholarship students."

"Oh..."I responded. I kind of wanted to be friends with Bailey. I guess if this is what it meant to be popular.

"Right now we should work on finding you a BF." Hadley remarked.

"But I'm not really looking for a relationship right now." I told them. "I've never really had one. I mean I've had sex…"

"Are you a slut?" Hadley interrupted. "Because I can't be around you if you are."

"No…I…" I stammered. That actually really hurt my feelings for some reason. I never had stuff like this happen when I was a guy.

"Well a good way for people not to think you are one is to have one boyfriend." Hadley proposed. "Sure, you won't be able to fuck whoever you want but it makes you look better."

I never even considered that someone could call me a slut. Why is it when a girl has a lot of sex, she's a sex but when a guy has a lot of sex, he's the coolest person ever?

"So can I ask you what your parents do?" I questioned.

"My parents own one of the most the most successful resorts in New Orleans. Have you heard the DuBois chain?" Hadley answered.

"I don't mean to sound rude but you don't really sound Cajun or Southern." I pointed out.

"I just never picked up either accent." She added. "Anyway, Giada is the daughter of a real estate tycoon Carlo Bacilli from New Jersey."

"But it's not Mafia-related." Giada remarked.

"And Megan is the daughter of former Cleveland Indians MVP Clint Ransom." Hadley explained. "So what's your family pedigree look like?"

"My dad is Kurt Martin." I told them. I then felt the need to add "the rock singer, not the professional wrestler."

"My mom loves his music." Hadley remarked. "You know I think we're going to be great friends."

So it seems like Sara has made some new friends but who knows how that will turn out. She also learned a thing or two about Double Standards. Hadley is played by Britt Robertson and Megan and Giada are played by Crystal Reed (From Teen Wolf) and Sofia Black D'Elia (from US Skins). London will not be appearing in this story in case you're wondering. Please don't forget to review


	4. Seven Seas Girls

I followed Max to our room. This was in the girls' cabins. I wasn't that familiar but I had been to Bailey's room a few times. I hoped that living with Max wouldn't be too difficult. I don't think that she was as messy as Zack or Woody.

"So how does it feel knowing that this is the first time that you won't be sharing a room with Sara?" She asked. That wasn't true but I guess in this universe it was.

"I'm just hoping that you're not as messy as her." I replied with a nervous laugh. I hoped she got it was a joke.

"I probably am." Max replied "So after we're done unpacking, we should get some lunch."

"You seem to think about food a lot." I commented.

"Well I am a very active girl." Max pointed out. "That reminds me, I should see if I can find a place where I can practice my dancing on this boat."

"I think there's a studio somewhere." I replied. I had heard of it but had never actually been there since I didn't possess the ability to dance.

"Well I'm going to see if I can find it." She stated. "How about we get lunch after I get back?"

"Okay I'll take a shower then." I told her as I pulled out my botanic rinse. Hair care was very important, especially now that I was a girl.

The act of bathing with a female body was a little uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, I had seen a girl naked before this happened (including a time in the shower with Bailey), but the fact that it was my own body made it a little weird. I didn't want…do anything inappropriate in the shower either. I had thankfully yet to feel the full influx of female hormones, which I was thankful for.

By the time that I was done showering, Max had returned. I thought about changing in the bathroom but then I realized that I had no reason to. Max probably wasn't going to stare or anything.

"So you're not going to take 15 minutes to figure what to wear, are you?" She asked.

"No, I just need to find something that matches and I'll be ready." I responded as I began to go through my dresser. I started with the obvious part before I went into the clothes. I grabbed another pair of jeans and started to pull them up my legs. "I hate these jeans."

"That's exactly why I don't like them." Max commented as I managed to get the pants up my legs and button them. I then threw a tee shirt. It was a little low-cut and I didn't really like it with the jeans. Then I remember that I could add a jacket. I went with a navy wool jacket that went really well with my jeans. I zipped up halfway because it looked more stylish that way. Sure it exposed some cleavage, but only a little.

"How do I look?" I asked.

"You look great." Max replied. I think I heard her stomach rumble. "Now can we get some food?"

I guess I could go without makeup for now. Maybe I could try to see if I could put on mascara while walking.

I knew exactly where to get the food from. I think Max noticed this.

"How did you know where to go to get food?" She asked. Okay, I have to think of something fast.

"Um…lucky guess." I replied. I think she seemed to buy that. We went to the buffet and started to fill our plates. It wasn't the greatest food but it wasn't exactly cafeteria food either. Max seemed to like it after the first bite.

"This is so much better than cafeteria food." She beamed. "I don't know how they can even call that food."

During this conversation, I didn't notice the looks I was getting from the other side of the deck.

"Hey Claire, I think that guy is checking you out." She stated. I looked across the deck and saw Holden Montgomery. He was a guy that Bailey was once interested in. "You should go talk to him."

"I don't know what to say." I replied. I really didn't want to okay talk with a guy who was 'checking me out'.

"Look it's been two years since Bob cheated you with Barbara." Max replied. Wait, what? "You should jump back into the water."

"Will you stop bugging me if I talk to him?" I asked. She nodded. I sighed and walked over to him. "Hi, my friend and I saw you looking at me."

"I didn't mean to offend you." He said defensively. "I just noticed that I haven't seen you here before. My name's Holden. Holden Montgomery."

"I'm Claire Martin." I reciprocated.

"Hmm seems I would be right after you for the roll call." He replied nervous. Was I making him nervous?

"No, that would be my sister, Sara." I corrected, also nervously.

"Oh, so I'll let you go back over to your friend." He responded. "I have to finish eating. Maybe we can talk again some time."

"Yeah maybe." I said before I walked over to Max.

"So what happened?" She asked.

"Nothing, we just talked." I told her. I looked for a way out of this conversation. "You know I'd rather eat now than talk about this some more."

"You know we're in the same room." She pointed. "You're going to have to talk about this eventually."

After we finished eating, I decided to check out the Lido Deck, mostly so I didn't have to talk about boys. I was wearing a more modest swimsuit this time. I was about to get into the hot tub when I noticed something. Over by the chairs was Sara with a group of other girls. She was wearing a bikini and sunglasses. It seemed like she had already made some new friends and not one of them was Bailey. I decided to walk over.

"Hi Sara." I greeted her.

"Sara, who is this girl?" The short blonde asked.

"This is my sister, Claire." Sara introduced. "And here we have Hadley, Megan, and Giada. Can I talk to you in private?"

The two of us ended up in the hot tub together.

"Look I don't want you to say anything that will embarrass me in front of my new friends." Sara told me.

"Okay I won't." I replied. "Where did you get those sunglasses?"

"I borrowed them from Hadley." She explained. "She said that I have to get my own, so I somehow have to get a pair of designer sunglasses."

"I think they do sell those." I informed her. "That is as long as you haven't blown any the money on your student account card again."

"Of course I haven't." She told me. "I'm not going to blow buying things for random girls and also buying a bunch of useless junk again."

"And a $300 pair of sunglasses isn't 'useless junk'?" I quipped.

"No, they protect my eyes from the sun's blinding rays." She argued. Okay, yes, but a cheaper pair could do the same. "That's very important because I don't want to go blind. Now if you excuse me, I need to get back to my friends."

She walked away and I was a little confused. I couldn't help, but wonder how often I was going to be seeing her. I hoped she wasn't still mad at me over what happened. I said I was sorry.

When I returned, Max was sitting on a bed that she had claimed as hers.

"So did he ask you out?" She asked. Okay I didn't seem to be able to get away from this. "What did you talk about?"

"We just went through some basic introductions and no, he didn't ask me out." I relented. "He did say that he was looking forward to seeing me again."

"That's good at least. We know that he's interested." She stated. "So do you think that you can style my hair? I kind of want to add some curls."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I want to see how it looks." She answered.

"How about we wait until tonight to do that?" I suggested. "We should try to get the TV hooked up right. It seems we picked the right year since they just added a satellite dish."

So the installation of the TV took longer than we thought. This was mostly because it came with a wall mount. We eventually found out that we weren't supposed to drill holes in the wall and just set it on Max's dresser.

Anyway, by the time that we had finished, it was around dinner time. We decided to head for the Pizza Bar. I think pretty much all of the students did. This was probably because they were giving a free plate of to any student tonight. It did mean that there were fewer places to sit.

I noticed Sara was sitting with the same friends. I don't think she wanted me to sit there. I don't know how they would have felt about Max but Max was with me.

We ended up taking a seat at a table with an auburn-haired girl. She then turned her head. It was Bailey. It took everything I had to prevent from saying her name in shock.

"Hi." Max greeted. "I'm Max."

"I'm Bailey." The redhead replied. "I'm glad that you're sitting with me. I was going to eat with my roommate but she ditched me for those girls over there."

That didn't sound like something Zack would do. Something about those girls bugged me. Maybe I should keep an eye on them in case Sara made a bad decision.

Almost instantly, I noticed Holden had taken a seat at the table.

"Hey Holden." Bailey greeted. "I was just talking to Max, and…"

At that point, I realized I had forgotten to introduce myself.

"Claire." Holden finished. "We've sort of met."

"So how do you two know each other?" I asked. They didn't seem to be on the friendly level before. They seemed romantically interested in each other briefly, to my chagrin.

"Holden and I used to date." Bailey explained.

"For about six months. It took about another six months for us to be friends." Holden added. I found the use of the term six months to be a little ironic. "The really interesting thing was what happened when we first got here. Bailey came in dressed as a boy. It didn't take long for everyone to figure out. She would have been kicked out if London Tipton didn't blab about how she bribed her roommate to drop out. But I'm really glad that she wasn't because it wouldn't have been the same."

"You love telling that story, don't you?" Bailey asked.

"So I wanted to ask you something earlier, Claire." Holden remarked. I tensed up a little. Was he about to ask me out? "I was wondering if…you needed anyone to show you around the ship."

Was that supposed to be him asking me out? I don't know. Even though, I know my way around, I'm not supposed to because I haven't been here. I guess it wouldn't hurt to say yes.

"Sure I guess." I replied. This was going to be very interesting. I hope I didn't just make a mistake.

So here's another look at things from Claire's side. She's got someone crushing on her. Also will Sara's new friends cause tension between her and Max? Please don'r forget to review.


	5. Not So Mean Girls

I walked into the pizza bar with Hadley, Megan, and Giada.

"You know I don't normally eat pizza." Hadley replied. "But I guess since it's free, one of two slices will be okay. Just watch it, pizza is a bad food and unless you girls want to hit the gym, you should minimize your intake."

Having to watch my weight was never something that I had to worry about when I was male. I may have been slightly pudgy as a guy but no one ever said anything about it. I looked at the line for the bar and it was a little long.

"I need one of you girls to get me a plate while I get us a table." Hadley remarked.

"But we can only get one plate." I pointed out.

"Okay fine." Hadley responded. "Giada, you get us a table. Don't let anyone sit there and you can get a plate after we come back."

"Okay." Giada replied.

After the three of us had gone through the line, we sat at the table that Giada had reserved. Giada promptly got up to get some food for herself. I couldn't help but notice that many of the eyes in the room seemed to be on me.

"How does it feel to be the center of attention?" Hadley asked.

"Why are they all looking at me?" I questioned.

"We don't exactly let new people into our group." Megan explained. "So seeing you with us is giving them something to notice."

"But enough about that. Do you see any guys that you like?" Hadley asked.

"I'm a little nervous." I admitted. I was actually very nervous. "I've never had to do it like this before. This would be my first time actually looking for a boyfriend. It feels weird to me."

"Well maybe I should help you a little." Hadley replied. "I actually know someone who would be a great boyfriend for you."

Hadley got up and returned with a guy. He was didn't really have any distinct characteristics. Then I remembered that I knew this guy. His name was Frank and he went here the first year that I was here. I know Cody had a dislike for him for the sole reason that he dated Bailey.

"This is Megan's older brother Frank." Hadley introduced as Giada took a seat at the table. The older part surprised me a little bit.

"Hi." Frank greeted. "What's your name?"

"I'm…Sara." I stammered. I don't know if it was because I was nervous or he was cute, or both. I can't believe that I'm starting to be attracted to guys. I'm supposed to be a guy, not date one.

"Just to be clear, I'm a junior." Megan replied. "Hadley and Giada are seniors though."

"So you're new here, right?" Frank asked.

"Yeah…" I responded. "Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom."

I got up and headed to the bathroom. I really did need to go and I knew that involved sitting, but I kind of needed a breath of fresh air. This was really happening. I headed to the lavatory. Once I was through, I noticed Max walk in.

"Hi." I greeted her.

"Oh you're actually talking to me?" Max asked.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"It's just that you seem more interested in your new friends than me." She stated.

"Do you want me to talk to them about you?" I questioned.

"No just go have some fun but don't you forget who your real friends are/" Max told me. What did she mean by that? I didn't do anything.

"You don't even know her." I reminded her.

"Well that Hadley sounds like a bitch." Max remarked.

"That's not a nice thing to say." I pointed out. "How would you feel if people said things like that about you? Like I know a lot people like to assume that tomboys are lesbians."

"Okay you're right." Max agreed. "I'll save any judgments for when I meet her."

I then walked out of the bathroom and noticed that Frank was still at the table. I was hoping he would have left by now.

"You were in there a long time." Frank commented.

"Well I saw a friend and we talked for a bit." I explained. "Besides, we girls do more in the bathroom than guys. So what's it like here at school?"

I was actually referring to myself as a girl right now but I was one. I didn't have the choice not to. I was also trying to make conversation.

"Hey what do you say we leave these two alone to talk?" Hadley suggested to Megan and Giada. They looked like they were done with their food anyway. I still had one piece on my plate. That wasn't really like me.

The three of them left the table leaving me alone with him. I kind of wished that they hadn't done that.

"So what do you like to do?" I asked. I don't think any of the tricks that I used on girls would work here.

"Well I don't have a lot of free time because I have a job at the smoothie bar." He replied. Was this irony? "I haven't done much dating actual other than this girl in my Sophomore Year. My sister always seems to be trying to set me up on dates actually. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask you. If we were to go on a date, where would you wanna go?"

"Well I don't really know my way around the ship." I pointed out. I would have to go with this story for at least a few days. "And also I think we're stopping in the Bahamas in a day or two."

"A date in the Bahamas does sound like it could be fun." He responded. "But I should probably ask you if you want to go on a date first."

"Well my friends want me to go out on a date with you and I promised I would give a relationship a try so I guess I can." I told him.

"Great." He replied. "So do you want to make out?"

"I'm pretty sure being in a relationship involves taking things slow." I replied. Having never been in one, I wasn't sure. "We haven't even had our first date yet. So I think you can go now."

"We haven't decided on a location yet." He said.

"Well you can think about it for a little and tell me after class tomorrow." I suggested. How was I so good at that? "So yeah you can go."

He nodded and walked off. As he did, I couldn't but think what it would be like to kiss a guy. I don't know why I was thinking about that. I had to get rid of it. Though, if I'm going to be a girl for a year, the chance of said thoughts returning seems likely.

After he walked, Hadley and Co. returned. I don't know if it's okay to call them that, but it was only in my head, so it's okay. Anyway, they all sat down at the table and were most likely about to ask me about what just happened.

"So?" Hadley asked. That was the only word she said.

"He asked me out." I answered.

"Where is he taking you?" Megan asked.

"We didn't get to that." I explained. "He's going to talk to me after class tomorrow."

"I'll make sure to give him some suggestions." Megan said. Well that would be interesting. Something else that would be interesting was class. I didn't have any type of reputation and I didn't know what kind of grades.

"Just make sure that he doesn't ask you out on a school night." Hadley replied. "Well at least not until we finish our homework."

"Are you serious?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes we take our studies very seriously." Hadley responded. "I mean it's my senior year and I want to get into a good college. I would like it if you girls had similar success and maybe we could even get into the same college and possibly even the same sorority."

The good news is I wouldn't have to worry about going to college as a girl or sororities. I was a bit curious to see what they were really like but not curious enough to actually want to join one.

"So what is your sister like anyway?" Giada asked. That was kind of random. I didn't know what Claire was actually like so I would have to go on what I knew about Cody.

"Well she's really smart, possibly the smartest person ever." I replied. "She also likes to cook and possesses no athletic talent…she's also good at writing."

"Well I think we're good where we stand." Hadley replied. "I mean I'm not a genius by any means but I am pretty smart and still have gotten As all through high school. So what are your grades like?"

I was hoping this question wouldn't come up because I really didn't know the answer to it. I had no idea what Sara Martin's transcript looked like. Wait since when do I know what a transcript is? Am I smarter?

"Well, I…" I stammered.

"I guess we'll just have to make sure that you get good grades this year because that is something that we can change." Hadley told me. You know this was not how I expected the typical queen bee to act. I mean so far, the meanest thing that's done was laugh at Woody falling over. I hope she doesn't have this really bad dark side.

"Can I ask you something personal?" I asked Hadley. She looked a little surprised. "I mean this may be stereotyping and I'm sorry if it offends you, but in the movies there are people kind of like you…"

"I am not Regina George." Hadley responded. I didn't even know who that was. "I don't know why people seem to think that just because a girl who a close knit group of female friends that she's automatically a huge bitch. It really hurts me that you would even consider something like that about me."

Okay I felt really bad. "I'm sorry." I replied softly. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"Apology accepted." Hadley replied. "Just remember, it's not nice to assume things about people, especially your friends."

Wow that was pretty similar to the conversation that I had just had with Max.

That night, I was back in my room, getting ready for bed…with my girly pajamas. I guess it could have been worse. Before I was asleep, Bailey walked into the room and I knew an uncomfortable conversation was about to happen. I was not looking forward to this.

"So what happened to us having dinner together?" She asked.

"Well I kind of…" I stuttered. Why did I have such a problem getting words out when I was nervous?

"…Made some new friends." Bailey completed.

"Yeah." I replied. "Things might have been different if you hadn't decided to take a shower."

"So this is my fault?" She asked in offense. I think I might have just put my foot in my mouth again.

"You know I'm really tired." I replied. We had been sailing for a few hours and I wasn't quite sure how time zones worked outside of the US.

I went to sleep and woke up the next morning. Bailey wasn't in the room, but I don't think I was late. The clock said I still had time to either shower or get breakfast. I decided on breakfast. I could just put some makeup on and brush my hair. I think that was how it worked. I walked into class to see what things would be like. All I knew was that it was going to be an interesting school year.

So on the surface, Hadley doesn't seem like such a bad person. Also you may or may not remember Frank from Shipnotized. He didn't appear but Bailey managed him a few times. Here he is played by Steven McQueen. Anyway, please don't forget to review.


	6. Working Girls

Max and I walked into class. I did have to admit that her hair looked nice curled. A few people were already there, including Bailey and Holden. As for Holden, he was officially going to me around the ship after class was over. We took a seat next to them. I didn't exactly know where else to sit. After a few minutes, the shady-looking girls that Sara was with yesterday walked in. She wasn't with them at this time. Sara herself managed to walk in right before class started. I was impressed that she wasn't late. The bell rang and then Ms. Tutweiller walked in. She looked the same. Pretty much everyone except for Bailey looked the same.

"Good morning, Class." Miss Tutweiller said. "I notice that there are a few new faces this year but I won't make any of you introduce yourselves."

At this point, I would probably say something. However, at the last second, I decided not to. I looked around the room a little. I couldn't help but notice Frank was here. I really didn't like that guy. Maybe it was because he dated Bailey. Anyway, his eyes seemed to be looking at Sara. Did he have a thing for her? That had to be an awkward situation.

I then realized why so many high school TV shows don't cover the classes. Most people aren't interested in hearing about that. So I'll just skip to lunch. This was when Holden was going to give the tour that I didn't really need but pretended that I did.

"So is there anywhere in particular that you want to go?" He asked.

"Maybe we could go to the bookstore." I suggested.

"Do you like to read?" He questioned.

"Yeah I've read over 800 books." I replied. "I also don't like these eBooks and Kindle Fires. I mean I like something that I can turn the page myself. Sorry that was probably a little too long of an answer."

"Well I'm glad that someone else still likes books." He remarked as we began to head down there. Did I actually like something about him?

The bookstore was a little different. I had heard that they planned on Mr. Tipton had made a deal with Barnes and Noble to replace it. I guess it was okay. I wonder if they were hiring, I would have to ask Mr. Moseby about that. In any case, it did look pretty nice. I went to the shelf and picked up _Fifty Shades of Gray._ I had heard of the book but didn't really know what it was about.

"Are you sure you want to read that?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" I inquired.

"Do you know what it's about?" He questioned. "There are some pretty heavy things in there."

"You're going to have to be more specific than that." I replied.

"Bondage." Holden replied.

"You mean like slavery?" I asked.

"No I mean like bedroom-type bondage." He responded. I blushed as I realized what that meant. Yeah I don't think I wanted to read this book. I quickly put it down. "Yeah I was a little surprised when I read it. I never finished it. I'm not really into that stuff."

I decided to pick _The Lovely Bones_ instead. Sure I had already it but I knew what it was about and it wouldn't surprise me. I also decided I would grab of the _Pretty Little Liars _books. I hadn't seen the show and I think it was the first one.

"You a fan of the show?" He asked.

"Actually I've never seen it." I replied as I headed to the register. I then noticed he took out his wallet. "What are you doing?"

"I thought I would get you something." He remarked. He noticed my frown as I went into my purse. "Okay not now, but let me buy you dinner some time."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" I queried. I don't know why but I may have sounded excited. I wasn't excited about going out with a guy.

"Would you say yes if I did?" He replied. Would I say yes? Should I say yes? I mean he seemed nice and other than the fact he once dated Bailey, I didn't really have a reason not to like "Claire?"

"Maybe you can buy me dinner and we can see whether or not it's a date afterwards." I told him. Wait, what did I just say?

"Are you free tonight?" He asked.

"Well I have to see if I can find a job after class is over." I told him. "I might be free tonight. I'm in Cabin F-122."

I don't know why I actually told him what room I was in. Did I actually like him? I couldn't actually like him. He was a boy and I was a…oh then I guess biologically it does make sense. Still, the thought of liking a guy scared me. I didn't want to.

"Okay well we should probably get back to class." He replied as I finished my purchase.

Once again skipping the actual school part, I went to Mr. Moseby to see what kinds of jobs were available. Woody was already the towel boy and you kind of had to be…a boy for that job. Towel girl just sounds…weird.

"What can I do for you, Claire?" Mr. Moseby asked.

"I was looking for a job." I told him. "I don't suppose that Sara has been here by any chance, has she?"

"No, she hasn't." He replied. That didn't surprise me.

"Well I actually don't have many jobs available right now for minors." He explained. "I do have an opening for lifeguard."

"Don't I need to take some sort of test for that?" I asked.

"I have it somewhere on here." He replied as he took out a sheet of paper. "Ah here it is. Question 1: would you describe yourself as pretty?"

"Um…yes?" I replied.

"Question 2: would you describe yourself as an above average student?" He asked.

"I would probably use the term extraordinary." I told him. I did wonder what that had to do with being a lifeguard.

"Question 3: do you have a name that is incredibly uncommon?" He asked. I'm pretty sure Claire was a common name.

"No." I responded.

"Question 4: do you have multiple members of the opposite sex attracted to you for basically no apparent reason?" He questioned. What the heck?

"What does this have to do with being a lifeguard?" I asked while blushing.

"Oh…this isn't the lifeguard interview." Mr. Moseby responded in embarrassment. "This is the 'Are You a Mary Sue?' test. Now this is the lifeguard interview. Question 1: can you swim?"

"Yes." I replied.

"Question 2: do you know CPR?" He asked. I did.

"Yes I do." I responded.

"Congratulations, you have the job." He told me. That's really all it takes? "Let me get you your uniform from the staff closet."

I followed him. I was expecting a swimsuit but I didn't expect two pieces. The top had lifeguard printed on the front.

"Isn't this a little revealing?" I inquired.

"Not according to Mr. Tipton it's not." He told me. "You start tomorrow after class. It's not that hard. You just have to make sure no one drowns and no one is eating or running by the pool."

Well I guess if it was the only job available it wouldn't be that bad. I decided to go to the bathroom and the swimsuit on. I entered a stall, removed my clothes, and stepped out wearing. I looked over myself in the mirror. The top wasn't quite a bikini and wasn't too bad with showing cleavage. The bottom was a little skimpy though.

Suddenly a stall opened and Sara popped out.

"You're going to be a lifeguard?" She asked. "I didn't think you would like a job where guys stared at you all day."

"I think any job I took would induce that reaction." I replied. "So why aren't you with your friends?"

"I just needed to pee before we started on our homework." She explained. "Although I'm not alone."

At that moment, a toilet flushed and the other blonde popped out of a stall. I think her name was Hadley.

"You know that's not actually a bad look." Hadley complimented, to my surprise. "Of course I agree with your sister. Being a lifeguard sounds pretty boring. I mean honestly who is going to drown in a five-foot deep pool? Sara, you ready?"

"Yeah I don't think I need to touch up my makeup." Sara remarked. She definitely seemed to have an easier time with it than me. Now that I think of it, I probably shouldn't wear any while I'm working in case I do need to go in the water.

Sara and Hadley left, and at that moment, I realized Sara said that they were going to be doing homework together. I don't think there was any reason for her to lie. I guess I shouldn't meddle here. If they are, I guess her grades will reflect all of that.

So I was kind of hoping that I the job search had taken a little longer so I could get out of this date. I still had mixed feelings about going out with a guy. I got dressed and returned to my room.

"So a little birdy told me that Holden asked you out." Max remarked. "What did you say?"

"Should I ask who you found it out from?" I asked. She didn't reply and I sighed. "I told him maybe he could buy me dinner."

"I have to help you get ready for your big date." Max replied in excitement.

"Really?" I asked in disbelief. That seemed like the last thing that I would hear from her.

"I may not act like it sometimes, but I am a girl." She replied. "I mean you could probably use it, especially since Sara is doing who knows what."

"She said that she is going to be doing homework with her friends." I informed her. "Do you believe that?"

"Maybe she realized that this is senior year and she can't coast any more if she wants to get into college." Max suggested. "I also want your opinion on something I've been thinking about."

"What?" I asked curiously.

"It's about my name." She stated. "What do you think of me going by Maxine?"

"Do you want to?" I questioned.

"I was thinking about it." She told me.

"Well your name is one of the things that you can control." I explained. "Also, it is the name that your parents gave you."

"Well tell me how does Maxine Collins sound?" She requested.

"It's definitely symmetrical." I answered. She stared at me. "Two syllables for your first and last name. I think it sounds fine and it shouldn't be up to anyone else but you."

"Well I'm probably going to think about it and see how I feel in the morning." She replied. "Anyway, enough about me, let's get you ready."

Max went to work and when she was done, I was wearing a black dress. This was my first time wearing one. It had short sleeves and was overall modest…except for the part where it went well above my knees. I guess it really wasn't that bad. My hair was tied in a ponytail and the makeup was at a minimum. I was wearing lip gloss, which tasted like cherries. I guess it was okay. It was at that time, I heard a knock on the door.

Holden was at the door. He looked…impressed…amazed…I don't know how to describe it, but he did look like he liked it.

"Wow." He commented. "You look nice."

I blushed at that.

"So do you still want me to buy you dinner?" He asked.

"Yes that's why I'm all dressed up." I responded. You know I think I remember being in this type of situation before. I hoped that wasn't a bad omen because it didn't exactly turn out well.

He took me to one of the restaurants. It wasn't one of the fancier restaurants, but I guess it was okay. It wasn't even really a date. At least, I don't think it was. There was Chinese, which I liked.

"So did you find a job?" Holden asked after we were seated at a table.

"Yeah I'm going to be the new lifeguard." I responded.

"Well that's good. People need someone to watch them while they swim." He commented.

"You make sound kind of creepy." I remarked with a smile. "Like I'm this stalker kind of person."

"That's not what I meant." He responded.

"I know but this is kind of nice." I said. "We don't have to kiss or anything, do you?"

"No." He told me.

So I decided to skip the actual school parts of the story unless something interesting comes up. Also Claire is working as a lifeguard and developing a relationship with Holden. Please don't forget to review.


	7. Dating Girls

I followed Hadley to her room, which she conveniently happened to share with Giada. Maybe that's how the two of them became friends. I wasn't actually looking forward to doing homework. Why did we have homework on the first day anyway? Okay so it wasn't as much homework as it was reading.

"Did she seriously assign us _Twilight _to read?" I asked in disbelief.

"What's wrong with _Twilight?"_ Megan questioned.

"It's quite possibly one of the worst written book series ever." I explained. "I mean Bella is not only incredibly stupid but she looks down on anyone who tries to befriend her and is completely dependent on men. Edward and Jacob are both violently obsessed with her for no apparent reason. The only characters that really that interesting are Alice and Carlisle and those two don't even get any real mention."

'Okay those are really good points." Hadley agreed. "I've never thought of those but you're absolutely right."

"Can't we just watch the movie anyway?" I asked.

"There are things in the book that don't happen in the movie." Megan explained. "I wouldn't be surprised if some of them were to be on the test so we should read the book."

"Besides, a little story time will be fun before you go on your date." Hadley suggested. I couldn't help but blush. I was still a little uncomfortable about going out with a guy, but I guess that was the normal thing to do. I didn't want people to think that I had an aversion to guys. I mean Frank was good looking and I am attracted to him no matter how much I try to deny it.

So, Hadley read the first few chapters aloud. It really only got to the part where she found she first saw Edward. I really did not want to read this book.

"Now that we're done with that, we have a date to prepare you for." Hadley remarked. "I think the first thing that you should do is take a shower."

That was probably a good idea since I didn't have one this morning.

"Use my shampoo." Hadley instructed. "It's the apple-scented one."

Okay so the idea of using a girly fruit-scented shampoo wasn't exactly appealing. I went into the bathroom and took my clothes off. I'm not going to describe what happened in there. It was the basic washing process and nothing more.

I exited wearing a towel. I didn't have a choice since I didn't have any clean clothes in here.

"So I need something to wear." I replied, clutching my towel tightly. I actually really hoped that they had a bra my size.

Hadley presented me with a green bra and panties.

"Since you don't have much dating experience, I need to give you a few lessons." Hadley said. "Your underwear is not important until at least the fifth date. All you need is comfort. I usually wouldn't sleep with a guy unless I was dating him 2 months first."

"So I don't mean to be rude but do you have a boyfriend?" I asked.

"I do, but unfortunately he was not able to come back this semester." She told me. "His parents think I'm a bad influence on him."

"It's fair that they try to separate their love." Megan replied as I dropped my towel. I guess there really was no hurt in letting them see me naked. I didn't have anything that they didn't have. I put on the undergarments and waited for them to give me the next piece of clothing. "Has anyone ever told you that you have nice tits?"

I blushed very brightly.

"Megan, what did I tell you about talking about other girls' breasts?" Hadley chided. "Sorry for what she said. Giada, how about we get her something from your dresser? Something casual, no dresses."

Giada grabbed two items from her dresser.

"How do you think will look?" She asked.

"Let's see." Hadley replied as Giada handed me the articles. First was a floral top that had some unusual sleeves. It wasn't really long-sleeved or short-sleeved as the sleeves went to my elbows. For the bottom was a pair of jeans. There was nothing fancy about them but they were still jeans. I hadn't ever worn jeans as a girl. I slowly ascended them up my legs, which wasn't easy.

"Why do girls' jeans have to be tight?" I questioned rhetorically.

"It's just something that we have to deal with." Hadley replied.

"Are you sure that this isn't going to be too hot for the Bahamas?" I asked.

"Well it's airy enough that you shouldn't really be sweating." Hadley explained. "It's not really the right time for a beach date."

I guess it was better than going on a date with a guy wearing nothing but a bikini.

"So is your brother a big baseball fan since your dad played?" I asked Megan

"Yeah but my dad isn't happy because he's a Reds fan." Megan replied.

"Okay so Megan, you're charge of blush and Giada, you work on eyeliner." Hadley ordered.

I couldn't help but feel a little like a doll as the two of the worked on my face even though I don't know what a doll actually felt like. I just sat still and let them work. After they were done, Hadley took out a third cosmetic and began to apply it to my lips.

"I'm not familiar with this product." I told them.

"This is lip stain." Hadley explained. "It colors your lips without wear or wax. Just be sure to keep your lips moist but don't lick them."

"I really want to thank you girls for your help." I told them. "This is only like the 5th real date that I've been on and quite a few of those were when I was younger."

"You're welcome." Hadley replied. "It's a good thing that we're friends because I think you probably could be pretty popular without my help. But now everyone will know who you are."

"So am I supposed to meet him somewhere?" I questioned.

"Well you two are going to meet on the Sky Deck before you go to a hot restaurant in Nassau" Megan explained. I didn't know where that was. "That's the capital and where we're porting in case you're wondering."

The term hot didn't exactly sound appealing, I admit.

"So, are you girls going to be around?" I inquired. I was a little nervous being alone with him.

"I think we can get a table away from you two and if you need any help, just text us and we can meet in the bathroom." Hadley suggested.

I nodded and headed to the Sky Deck. I didn't know what Frank would be wearing since it wasn't really a formal date.

He was wearing a simple jeans and a t-shirt. Well I guess that was okay. I mean they did look good on him and I could see his muscled arms. I think I liked the muscles arms.

"Hey." He greeted me.

"Hi." I reciprocated. "So we should probably get going so we can be back before curfew. That and I also feel pretty hungry right now."

After the two of us headed off the boat, I couldn't help but notice the three of them following behind me, but not that closely.

The restaurant that we went to was called Lum's Iguana Café. I think they specialized in Caribbean food. I had never had Caribbean food before, so I decided to try it. I ordered some kind of jerk chicken with some milk because I heard it was supposed to be spicy.

At that point, our waitress left. That meant that the two of us were alone at the table. Okay I just said something completely obvious.

"So your sister tells me that you're a Reds fan." I stated.

"Are you a baseball fan?" He asked.

"I'm kind of a diehard Red Sox fan." I admitted.

"You know the Reds played the Red Sox in the World Series one year." He replied. "I think it was 1975."

"All I know is it was way before I was born." I responded. "So do you want to play like your dad?"

"Yeah, I play during the summer." He explained. "I know I probably won't be drafted but I plan on playing in college. Some scouts are already interested in scholarships."

"What would you do if you were drafted by the Indians?" I asked, before taking a sip of my drink.

"I actually don't know if I would sign." He answered. "I don't really want to be in my dad's shadow."

"But wouldn't you be in his shadow for whatever you played?" I pointed out.

"The pressure wouldn't be as big." He countered. "How about we talk about you?"

"What…what do you want to know about me?" I stammered. I hoped he wouldn't want to go too far into my past because I didn't know enough about that to talk about it.

"Well where did you go to school before you went here?" He asked.

"I went to Cheevers High in Boston." I responded. "I was a cheerleader."

I couldn't help but wonder how I managed to know that. Maybe it had to do with the dream that I had. I was a cheerleader in it.

"So I need to go somewhere after we eat." He stated. "You probably aren't interested in coming with me."

Okay I kind of didn't like how he assumed that I wouldn't want to. I think I might have actually done the same thing to some girl at some point. It didn't exactly feel good.

"I think I do want to go with you." I told him. "But not until after dinner. So is there anything else you wanna talk about?"

"So you have a sister, too, right?" He asked as I nodded. "What's she like?"

"Picture the opposite of me personality wise." I replied. "That's her. Okay so maybe I'm exaggerating a little. She's less outgoing, smarter, and not as pretty."

"Well she sounds interesting." He commented as I looked over at a table where Hadley and the others were sitting. "So I'm guess that's she an honors student then."

"I don't know if that term would do her justice." I replied. "She's already taken 3 college courses at MIT."

Those were of course after sophomore year because Cody was too busy building the machine that had sent us here this summer.

"Sounds like she has quite the impressive resume." He remarked. "I do wonder if she really is not as pretty as you, though."

"Last I checked, hitting on your date's sister isn't exactly cool." I pointed out. Is it just me or was this date not going so well so far? I wasn't sure what to say. Thankfully I noticed our food had arrived. I basically ate in silence.

After dinner was done, I followed him into a kind of shady-looking area. I was starting to wonder if this was a good idea. Just what exactly was he doing here?

He met with a guy that I think might have been a native, due to his dark skin.

"Are you Frank?" He asked in with what I assume was a Bahamas accent. He also looked kind of shady.

"Yes I am." Frank confirmed. I did not like this. "Do you have the stuff?"

"I do." The man confirmed. "Do you have the money?"

Frank handed him a wad of money. Usually when money is in a wad, it's never a good sign.

"Thank you." The man said as he handed Frank a brown paper bag and walked away.

"What's in the bag?" I asked hesitantly.

"Steroids." He replied. Oh crap. "You can't tell anyone about this."

So Sara seems to have gotten more than she bargained for on her first date. The good news is she seems to have a good relationship with her friends but what will happen if she lets Megan know what her brother is doing? Please don't forget to review


	8. Unhappy Girls

"What do you mean steroids?" I asked. "Please tell me that is for a neck injury."

"If I say it is, will you stop asking me about this?" He asked.

"So then you're using them to cheat." I remarked.

"Technically I'm just using them to bulk up because I'm not playing right now." He responded.

"You don't need to bulk up." I replied as I began to walk away. The area was kind of scary but I did manage to make it back to the port unharmed. The other girls were already on the ship. I think they wanted to know what happened.

"What happened?" Megan asked. That confirms that.

"Your brother's a junkie." I stated.

"What?" The three of them asked.

"He bought some steroids from some guy." I explained.

"Are you sure that they were steroids?" Megan questioned in disbelief.

"He told me himself." I answered.

"Oh god." Megan replied with a look of fear on her face. "I really hope that he didn't get that idea from Dad. He's up for the Hall of Fame next year and if it gets out that he used steroids, there is no way that he is going to get in."

"Megan it's going to be okay." Hadley replied. "Looks like we could all use a mood raiser. I'm sorry that the date didn't work out. But I suppose it's a good thing that you got out now. Steroids can cause violent outburst after all and you don't want to be a victim of abuse."

"Don't they also cause shrinkage of the testicles?" I asked.

"That's what I've heard." Hadley replied. "I've never seen the results up close to be sure."

I couldn't help but blush at that. Talking about sex with other girls was still a little uncomfortable for me.

"So who wants some chocolate ice cream?" Hadley asked. "I've got some in my mini fridge for this kind of occasion."

"Why didn't I know of this?" Giada inquired, looking slightly angry.

"You didn't need to know." Hadley pointed out.

One thing I had noticed was that chocolate seemed to have an increased effect on me since I became a girl. I think scientists proved something. I don't know. Anyway I had had it once and it felt heavenly.

We all headed back and Hadley fill four bowls with chocolate ice cream. You know I probably should have brought a mini fridge. Well right now what I wanted to do was indulge in the chocolate.

"Chocolate is the best food ever." Megan commented. Well I don't know about best ever.

"I don't know it's hard to beat strawberries." I argued.

"But chocolate doesn't have that leafy stem thing at the top." Megan pointed out.

"You have to generally unwrap chocolate." I said.

"Girls how about we just agree that nothing is better than chocolate-covered strawberries?" Hadley suggested. Okay now those were amazing, even though I can't say that I've had those as a girl. "Anyway, we have to see if we can find Sara a potential BF."

"Do we have to right?" I groaned.

"No right now we're watching _90210." _Hadley replied. She turned to me. "Have you seen it before?"

"I don't really watch CW." I admitted.

"Well you're in luck because I have the first two seasons on DVD." Hadley replied. "We can have a marathon on Saturday to help you get caught up."

Watching girly television was one part of being a girl that I hadn't really gotten into. I guess I was going to get my first fix of that right now. I heard these shows had cute guys.

The show not only had cute guys but cute shirtless guys. I could easily see how girls could get into this show. Plus the storylines weren't that bad either. Even though I hadn't really seen much of the show, I really liked this Annie girl.

"I still can't believe my brother would want to cheat like that." Megan remarked. "He's good enough at baseball that he doesn't even need steroids. He's gotten comparisons to a young Barry Bonds."

"That's a bit ironic." I commented.

"Well Barry Bonds put up really impressive numbers in Pittsburgh and people are pretty sure that he wasn't juicing then. The 73 is an obvious product of steroids though." Megan explained. Wow she really knew her baseball.

"So do you play any sports?" I asked Megan.

"I've dabbled a little in field hockey but I don't really feel the need to play sports." Megan answered. "I would much rather write romance novels."

"That's an interesting career choice." I remarked.

"Well sometimes it's boring going into the family business, especially when you have the money to take a gamble." Hadley explained. "I mean I haven't decided on what I want to do but I think I'll leave the resort business to my parents."

"So I should probably be going to bed." I remarked. "Thanks for all of the help tonight."

"Don't forget the marathon on Saturday morning." Hadley reminded me as I walked back to my room. It was currently around 10:00. One thing that I learned was that the Bahamas was in the same time zone as Boston. I don't know when we'll get to the next one. I guess it will probably be when we leave port tomorrow. I headed back to my room and found that Bailey was getting ready for bed.

"I like your outfit." She remarked.

"Thanks." I replied as I started to undress. That reminded me that I needed to return these clothes after I washed them.

"So are you enjoying your first semester on board?" She asked.

"Yeah I guess so." I remarked.

"You know even though you won't talk to me outside of this room, you're still better than my last roommate. London was constantly insulting me and my clothes." Bailey explained. Yeah, I knew this. I also knew that she gave Bailey bad relationship advice. Though, that may have been because London had several bad relationships. "You're very different from your sister, though."

"That is something that I know." I replied.

Claire's POV

It's been a few days since school first started. It was now Friday and I was just waking up. I felt kind of weird. I hope I wasn't coming down with something. I looked at the sheets and saw a red spot. Oh crap. I think that's….

"Max, I think I need to borrow a tampon." I remarked in embarrassment as she woke up. I needed to act natural here, like this wasn't my first period. I kind of wished that I was sick with how I felt.

Max went into the bathroom and returned a wrapped stick.

"Looks like you need to wash your sheets." She commented before I blushed and took the item. "I don't have any Midol, though."

I entered the bathroom and was glad that there were instructions. Once I had it in, it didn't hurt any less but at least it was supposed to absorb the blood. I was not looking forward to having 10 or 11 more of these before the year was over.

"So we should head down to the pharmacy first and get you some Midol." Max remarked.

"But that might make us late." I replied.

"It might but we could probably get a note from them." She responded. "I mean Miss Tutweiller would probably appreciate it more if you were able to focus during class and not be distracted from pain from cramps."

I guess that was true. I needed to change my clothes because they also had blood on them. I wasn't quite sure how I was supposed to shower with this thing in or if I was supposed to take it out. If that was the case, maybe I should have showered first. I decided to go with a blue spandex tank top and a white leopard-print skirt. It wasn't real leopard, so it was okay. I then realized that I more feel exposed/chilly so I threw a jacket on. I put on some earrings before starting to work on my makeup. I had to be still while doing it. I couldn't walk and put on makeup like Sara was able to.

"So what do you think about Hannah Montana revealing that she has a secret identity?" Max asked me. That had just had on _the Tonight Show_ with Jay Leno last night.

"Well it was definitely shocking." I explained as the two of us began to walk towards the pharmacy. I hope I didn't need to get a prescription for this stuff.

"So you probably get some tampons too and make sure to keep at least one in your purse this time." Max teased. I wasn't used to be being a girl so menstruation wasn't exactly on my mind.

I hadn't been to the pharmacy much as a guy. Bailey wasn't the type of girl to make me buy her tampons, which I was kind of thankful for. I know it was supposed to be a sanitary place.

"So are you excited about seeing Holden in class?" Max asked as we began to peruse the aisles. Both products were located in the feminine care aisle, which I previously liked to avoid.

"We've only been on one date." I pointed out. "We haven't really talked much sense."

"Well you need to see if you can get him to ask you out again." She suggested as I picked up two boxes: one of Midol and one of Tampax. "Now I've taken some consideration into what we talked about a few days ago and I have decided that I do want to be called Maxine from now on."

"Okay." I replied. "Can I still call you Max sometimes because it's shorter?"

"Sure." She agreed as we went to the register and paid for the items. Max also grabbed a thing of Tic-Tacs. "What? I like my breath to smell nice."

"You know I think you might be becoming more of a girl, Maxine." I teased playfully with a giggle. I don't know why that came out. "You've got the girly hairstyle and the girly name. Pretty soon you'll be wearing skirts and dresses."

"Let's not go that far." She remarked. "Anyway, let's get some breakfast because coffee will definitely help you."

The two of us went to the café to get some coffee and cereal. It wasn't Starbucks but it basically was Starbucks. I noticed some people that looked like they were trying to be hip with in the corner on their MacBooks. I didn't have a MacBook. I had an Asus. We ate our cereal and drank our coffee before the two of us headed down to the classroom. I think that we may have been late because the door was closed.

"Great." I remarked as the door was locked. I knocked on it.

Miss Tutweiller answered the door. We didn't get a note but I did show her the receipt.

"Oh…" She remarked as she realized what it meant. "You two are excused. You may take your seats. Well it looks like the two of you got here just in time. I was about to assign partners for our first group project."

Miss Tutweiller seemed like she might actually be a capable teacher because she always let us pick our own partners. That never really seemed to ever turn out that well.

"Why don't the two of you work together since you got here last?" She suggested. You know Maxine and I had never worked together on anything other than when we were on a basketball team together. Of course I was kind of irrelevant on that team. I think the term that they use for my position is benchwarmer.

I listened to Miss Tutweiller rattled off names. I kind of wanted to know what the assignment actually was first because that was more important to me. I would probably get an A on it anyway. Then one combination of names stuck out to me.

"Holden." She started. "You will be working with Sara."

So the format for this chapter is new. I decided to include both Sara and Claire's POV because it will allow it flow better and it allows me to do more with each chapter. So Sara is dealing with the aftermath of a bad date and Claire is dealing with her first period. It also looks like a love triangle may be brewing between the two girls. Please don't forget to comment.


	9. Competing Girls

Sara's POV

So it's kind of ironic that Claire was late. I can't help but wonder what was on that paper that allowed her to be excused. I then heard Ms. Tutweiller start to assign names for the project. She seemed to be going alphabetically. That meant that I wasn't likely to be working with Hadley, Megan, or Giada. Since when does Miss Tutweiller pick partners anyway? She always let us choose our own. To be fair, those didn't exactly work out that well. I still can't believe that we managed to create a moving plant. The nightmares have finally stopped. I also knew I wouldn't be working with Claire because she was going to be working with Max.

"Holden you will be working with Sara." Miss Tutweiller said. I looked over to Holden and smiled at him. I mean it was the polite thing to do right. I know saw him hanging out with Claire a few times. Were they dating or something? I could ask him that.

"He's cute." Hadley whispered.

"Okay for the rest of the class you need to converse with your partners." Miss Tutweiller replied. What exactly was this project that we were working about?

"Miss Tutweiller wouldn't it be a good idea to tell us what we're working on first?" Bailey asked.

"Oh right I probably should do that." Miss Tutweiller replied, laughing nervously. "This project is for Biology, and no, you will not be studying the biology of one another."

I might have made a joke about that at one point.

"The project can be on any species from any of the five kingdoms." She added. "However there was will be no bring any living or dead visual aids, including plants because someone might have an allergy and sending someone to the infirmary is not a good way to get an A."

"So we can't bring in paper because it's made from dead trees?" Woody asked. Several people in the class laughed at that, including me.

"I'm not even going to comment on that." Miss Tutweiller replied. "Now anyways, go sit with your partners and converse."

I walked over to wear Holden was sitting and sat beside him.

"Hi." I greeted her.

"So you're Sara Martin." He stated. "I know your sister but we've never had the chance to formally meet."

"So how well do you know my sister?" I questioned curiously. I then realized how that could possibly be taken. "I mean I don't mean to…"

Okay I backed myself into a corner there. He chuckled at me.

"You're kind of funny when you babble." He remarked. "We've been on one date."

I then felt my phone vibrate and noticed a text from Hadley.

"_Ask him for his number."_ It said.

"So maybe I should get your number." I remarked. I had to think of a good reason for this. "You know in case we need to meet sometime."

"How about we just agree to meet tomorrow morning?" He suggested. Yeah that wouldn't work.

"I can't tomorrow." I replied. "My friends are giving me a _90210 _marathon."

"Please don't tell me that you're one of those girls that think hanging out with your friends is more important than homework." He responded.

"We do our homework together, thank you." I replied. "However, we've been planning on this marathon for days. We have a few days to work on this project and we don't need to rush into it. We can even work on it some tonight."

"Sure I guess we can meet on the Sky Deck at 7:00." Holden replied. "That will give you plenty of time to do your other homework with your friends."

So around 7:00, I headed out to the Sky Deck alone. Surprisingly, there weren't very many out there for a Friday night. Holden wasn't exactly in sight. There was another guy. He had dark brown hair, medium height. He wasn't exactly muscular. I think he might have been an older guy because he appeared to have an alcoholic beverage.

"Hi." He said to me.

"Hello." I replied.

"Are you a student or a passenger?" He asked.

"Technically all students are passengers." I pointed out. "But I'm a student."

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Sara." I responded. "Yours?"

"Devon." He replied. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm waiting for a guy." I told him. I don't know why it was his business, though.

"Boyfriend?" He asked.

"No he's my science partner." I replied. "Why are you asking me so many questions?"

"I'm just making conversation." Devon answered.

"Well I don't really like this conversation." I responded.

Holden then walked up to the two of us.

"Is there a problem here?" He asked.

"No, I was just leaving?" Devon said as he began to walk away. "Have fun working on your science project you two."

"Who was that?" Holden questioned.

"I have no idea." I remarked. "We should probably start working."

"Okay, so what are we going to work on?" He asked. "What species I mean?"

"Well I want it to be some kind of animal and definitely not an insect." I replied.

"Let me guess, you want something cute." He added.

"Cute animals can be interesting." I reminded him. "So how much do you like my sister?"

"What do you mean?" He asked nervously.

"Well do you like her and only like her?" I inquired. "Would you consider her your girlfriend?"

"We've been on one date." He pointed out. "It's a bit early for that."

"So would you consider going out with other girls while you decide?" I asked, pushing a strand of hair out of my face.

"Are we talking about you?" He questioned.

"Only if you're interested." I replied. "But right now we should really decide what we're doing for this project."

"Yes…the project." He stated. I think may have had him flustered or something. He definitely seemed nervous if nothing else. "Do you want to do something about…wolves or something like that, grey wolves even?"

"That's a great idea." I decided. I really wasn't trying to flirt here.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked. "I don't know if it's fair to your sister."

"We're just working on a science project." I pointed out.

Claire's POV

Maxine walked back into the room after getting a bottle of water.

"So are you sure that you can trust Sara with Holden?" She asked.

"Why wouldn't I?" I questioned. "It's not like she would try to take him from me."

"It wouldn't be the first time." She pointed out. I looked confused. "Don't you remember that?"

"I think I need you to jog my memory." I replied.

"Remember Steven Jennings that you liked freshman year?" She responded. I really didn't even know who that was but nodded anyway. "He was the same guy that Sara lost her virginity to."

Okay now that sounded a little unnerving. Zack never really went after girls that I was interested in. Granted, I wasn't interested in many girls but Sara doing that to me did seem a little unexpected.

"They're out on the Sky Deck if you're interested in spying on them." Maxine supplied. I wasn't really interested in spying.

"But we have to work on the project." I reminded her.

"Please you could probably do that by yourself in your sleep." She said. "I mean I will help you out but I think this may be more important."

I walked out to the Sky Deck to see what was going on. Apparently Holden was walking away, leaving Sara by herself. I walked over to talk to her.

"Hello, Sister." I said to her.

"What's up?" She asked.

"I was coming to check out you and Holden." I replied. "You know since we're kind of in a relationship and all."

"One date does not a relationship make." She countered.

"That's not the point." I responded. "You know that I like him. What happened to Frank anyway?"

"Last I checked, he's working with Bailey." Sara said.

"No, I thought the two of you were going out." I replied.

"We went out on a date." She confirmed.

"Was it bad?" I questioned.

"If you consider being taken on a drug run bad, then yes it was bad." She commented. I looked at her in horror. I think she caught it. "No, I did not take anything and he was getting steroids."

"So why are you going after Holden?" I questioned.

"I'm not." She stated.

"Oh…" I replied, feeling bad about accusing her for it.

"But now that I think of it, he is kind of cute." Sara commented. "I could see the two of us making a cute couple."

"That's not cool." I responded.

"Neither is posting a blog shaming your ex." She replied. Why did she have to bring that up? "Are you going to do the same if things end badly here?"

"No…I…" I stammered. That hit really close to home and I admit maybe that was a bad idea.

"Or are you going to build another machine to take you to another dimension?" She practically spat. "How about we both go out with Holden and let him decide. I have a _90210 _marathon tomorrow so you can hang out with him."

"I guess that's fair." I agreed.

"Great now that's settled, you should probably get back to Max so you can work on your project." Sara remarked before she started to walk away.

"Maxine." I corrected.

"What?" She asked, stopping in her tracks.

"She wants to be called Maxine now." I informed her. "She told me this morning."

"I haven't talked to her lately." She admitted.

"Well we had quite the conversation this morning when she was taking me to buy tampons." I replied.

"Oh…" She responded, seemingly having a moment of realization. "So how does it feel?'

"Well right now I can't feel much because I'm hopped up on Midol. That reminds me, I should go back and change."

"Change what?" She asked. I didn't answer and just went back to my room.

In the morning, I decided to see what Holden was up to. I hoped I knew the right place to find him. I also remembered that I would have to work in the afternoon. That could be interesting. How was I supposed to do that when I was on my period? Well I probably wouldn't have to do much swimming. I also think they're supposed to be water-resistant now as long as they're covered.

Anyway, I managed to find Holden eating breakfast with Bailey. There was nothing unusual about that. I walked over to him. So far I haven't had any mood swings as a result of my period. At least I don't think that I have. I should really talk to him right about now.

"Hi." I greeted him.

"Hey Claire." Holden replied.

"You know neither of you ever told me how your date went." Bailey commented.

"It was fine." I said. Holden nodded his head in agreement.

"Are you going to go out again?" She asked.

"Well I was just about to ask him that." I responded. "So do you want to go out again tonight since Sara won't be able to work on your project?"

"I guess we can do that." He agreed. "I think we're supposed to port in Ireland tonight. I'm sure that there are plenty of places that we could go."

"I heard you're the new lifeguard." Bailey remarked. "When do you get off work?"

"Six." I answered. "So how about we meet at 7:00?"

"Sounds good." Holden agreed.

So it looks like we have a good old-fashioned sibling love triangle. It seems that Claire has the upper hand. Also who is Devon? You need to review to find out.


	10. Project Girls

Sara's POV

I woke up fairly early on Saturday morning. The first that I noticed was that before I went to Hadley's room, I needed to shave my legs. The easiest place for me to do that was in the shower, which I needed anyway. Female shaving wasn't actually the easiest thing to do because there were a lot more places that needed to be shaved. The only acceptable place for girls to have hair is on the head and maybe a little in the…on the…below the belt. Anyway…I went to shower and washed myself and also shaved the places that needed to be shaved.

Hadley texted me saying that she was serving breakfast in her room so there was no need to get any.

So the breakfast wasn't exactly top of line. It was bagels but I guess I okay with that. There wasn't any cream cheese though.

"So now that we're all here, let's get started with episode 1." Hadley replied. There was a moment of silence before she turned to Megan who was holding the remote. "Hello, that means start the freaking player."

I couldn't help but giggle before the DVD started to play. I sat back against one of the beds and began to watch.

Having a marathon of a show that consisted of several 45 minute episodes wasn't the easiest thing to do. We had to stop for lunch around 1:00 and we weren't even halfway through the first season yet. I don't think it was feasible that we could make it through both seasons today, probably not even one.

"Attention students and staff, I need all of you to report to the Sky Deck for a special assembly." Mr. Moseby said over the intercom. I groaned. This would probably make us even less likely to finish.

"Can't they just respect that we have other things to do than attend a stupid assembly?" Hadley asked rhetorically.

We went out to the Sky Deck and there was Mr. Moseby. I didn't see anything or any reason for this.

"So it seems we meet again." A voice said from beside me. I turned to my left and saw Devon once again.

"And here I was hoping I would never see you again." I remarked.

"Sorry but no such luck." Devon replied. "I must say that it's a pleasure to see you again. You seem to enjoy being here so much."

I could detect the sarcasm in his voice.

"Okay who are you and what are you doing?" Hadley asked coming to my defense.

"Attention everyone." Mr. Moseby interrupted with the beginning of his speech. I turned to look at him, even though I didn't care. "I would like to introduce to Devon Kroger. He happens to be the heir to the Kroger chain of supermarkets and also Wilfred's Tipton's stepson. He will be joining the ship as our new Assistant Manager."

Okay now that was a bit shocking. Devon then walked over to where Moseby was standing.

"Thank you, Marion, for the introduction." He replied. "I also want to thank all of you for being here. I hope all of you will welcome me with open arms and I hope that we don't have any problems. However, that doesn't mean that I will be lenient if a situation arises."

The ceremony didn't last very long. I then noticed that Devon was talking to various members of the staff.

"How about you girls go back to the room and I'll catch up." I suggested.

"Look I think this guy might be bad news." Hadley warned me. "Something about him seems off."

"I just want to tell him to leave me alone." I replied. "I'm not interested in dating him."

The three of them disappeared and I slowly walked over to where he was standing.

"So how old are you?" I asked him.

"I'm 22." He responded.

"So what are you doing hitting on a girl who's not even 17 yet?" I asked.

"Don't flatter yourself. I wasn't hitting on you." Devon replied. "I can have any girl that I want and clearly don't need some schoolgirl who is probably obsessed with that mediocre boy band called One Direction."

"Hey, lay off 1D." I ordered. "You don't know them. You don't understand them. They worked hard to get where they are, unlike you. You were born rich and your mom married an even richer man."

"Yup, obsessed." He replied with a smirk. I left in a huff and let out an audible groan as I reentered Hadley's room.

"Okay what's going on between you two?" Hadley asked.

"Nothing, he's just an ass." I replied.

"You acted like you knew him before." She pointed out observantly as I took my seat back again. I didn't want to talk about this.

"I met him last night while I was waiting for Holden." I explained.

"He's kind of cute." Giada commented.

"But once again, he's an ass." I reminded them. "He's not my type. You can have him if you want."

"Girls, let's just get back to the marathon." Hadley instructed. "We still have a lot more episodes to go."

By the time that we got to the middle of the season, I noticed something a little odd.

"Hey that girl looks kind of like your sister." Megan commented. She was talking about Rhonda, the girl that Ethan hit with his car. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing Ethan in the episode that we watched.

"So why wasn't Ethan in the episode that we watched the other night?" I asked.

"He left the show after Season 1." Hadley explained. "There's a new guy coming up that essentially replaced him."

"I see." I remarked.

"You know we should probably carry this over to tomorrow." Hadley suggested.

"Well I probably should work on my project a little more tomorrow." I stated.

"Well we can at least get through Season 1." Hadley assured. "We can watch Season 2 some other time if you want. By the way, what's the progress between you and Holden?"

"Well we talked a little last night and my sister is kind of interested in him too." I explained. "I think she kind of has a lead."

"Okay then you need to go out with him tomorrow." Hadley proposed. "One day was probably enough. I don't want your potential romance to suffer."

"It's really not much of a romance." I pointed out.

"But it can be." She countered.

The next day, I went to see Holden, telling him I wanted to work on our project. I wanted a little more as well...no, not that much. Maybe a kiss.

I wore one of my best dresses. I didn't own anything super-fancy and I didn't want to overdress.

This time, I did not run into Devon which I was thankful for.

"Hi." I greeted Holden.

"Wow you look pretty dressed up for just doing a project." He commented.

"Well I was hoping that we could get a little lunch." I suggested.

"Yeah I guess lunch is okay." He agreed. "We wouldn't want to work on an empty stomach."

"Yes, it's definitely not something that I would want to do and I would also like to eat with you." I replied. Wait, what did I just say?

"What?" He asked.

"Never mind. Let's just get something to eat." I suggested quickly.

After we were seated, I decided to speak up.

"So I like that we're on a date." I said.

"This isn't really a date and I'm kind of dating your sister." He replied.

"But do your consider her your girlfriend?" I asked. "I like you two and until you're ready to be exclusive, you can date other people. I just want you to give me a chance before you decide."

We ended up having a good time. By the time we were done studying, I noticed he leaned in for a kiss. I know this would be my first kiss with a guy but I had been a girl for a few weeks, so I ready. I locked lips with him.

"So am I better kisser than Claire?" I asked.

"I don't know. We haven't kissed yet." He remarked. I smiled, knowing that I seemed to have the lead now.

Claire's POV

I was in my room, working on the project with Maxine.

"No I'm not going to do a project on the honey badger." She replied. "It's scary and probably smells funny."

"Okay then what do you want to do?" I asked.

"How about a liger?" She questioned.

"That's not really an actual species because lions and tigers don't get it on in the wild. They don't even really live near each other." I explained.

"Okay now I just got the bizarre image of two animals having sex with each other." Maxine stated. "Maybe we can just do Bengal tigers."

"Okay I guess that would work." I agreed. "But you do know that Bengal is in India and also a breed of housecat?"

"Did I need to?" She asked.

"Well the first part is more important than the second." I explained.

"So do you think you can take me shopping?" Maxine requested. "I need to get a few dresses."

I couldn't help but giggle. I so wanted to say 'I told you so' but refrained from doing so. Before we could leave the room, there was a knock on the door. I opened it to see Bailey.

"Hey what are you girls doing?" She asked.

"We were about to go shopping." I replied. I should probably ask if she wants to come.

"Can I come?" She asked before I could. "We could do a girls' night out thing."

Well I was interested on girls' nights out were like.

"Sure you can come." I agreed. "Maxine here wanted to buy some dresses. You know she used to be a tomboy before we came here."

Maxine rolled her eyes at that.

"You two must be really good friends if you can make fun of each other like that." Bailey commented.

"That's what knowing someone for 5 years can do for you." I replied. "Anyway, if we're going to have a girls' night out, we should probably get going."

Because there weren't really any major areas near, we decided to go shopping on the ship. It had a boutique from London's fashion line. It was a good place to get dresses because London sure had a lot of dresses. I imagined she knew how to sell them or at least had someone who could sell them for her.

I watched as Maxine tried on a few dresses and then Bailey started to try on a few dresses. I decided what the hell and chose to try on a few dresses as well. I don't know if I would get any I think it was supposed to be fun. A few weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have thought that even watching girls try on dresses would be. I remember one time Bailey asked for my advice picking a dress for homecoming. I was bored out of my mind. This was fun and I was glad that I was having a good time.

"We should go dancing." Bailey suggested. I know that definitely caused Maxine's face to light up like a kid on Christmas morning that just got the toy that everyone was talking about. "What did I say to make you so happy?"

"Maxine is probably the greatest dancer ever." I beamed.

"I wouldn't say that I'm the best ever." Maxine replied, showing modesty. "But yeah dancing is my passion. I also love dancing movies if you ever want to get me any. I've seen everything from _Dirty Dancing _to _Dance Flick_, which actually was a little bit funny."

"We will need some hot new outfits for dancing, though." Bailey recommended. I guess I could get into this. "You know maybe Holden will be there to see you dancing, Claire and maybe you could even dance with him."

"I'm really not very good." I responded. I didn't know how to dance in a girl's body and having to be led, seemed a little inconvenient. "And I don't know if I want to dance with him at this point."

"Well you should because I kind of saw him kissing your sister." Bailey replied. I cringed a little. Sara's had like one date and they've already kissed?

"Well we're not exactly exclusive yet and I told Sara that she can have a chance and it should be his decision who he wants to date." I explained.

"I really don't think that's a very good idea." Maxine commented. "You know that she has a lot more experience at this type of thing than you do."

"What are you saying?" Bailey asked.

"You don't need to confuse her." I responded. "Sara's been out on quite a few dates. But she's not really loose or anything. She only has had sex a few times with a few different people. I also know that she won't try to claim him like that because she did it before and she knows how much it would upset me. I didn't talk to her for a whole week because of that."

"Wow I've never known what it was like to have a sister steal your boyfriend." Bailey remarked.

"We have fights sometimes just like other siblings." I replied. "But we should go dancing. This conversation is actually a little bit depressing."

The three of us walked into the club and I couldn't help but notice how good Bailey looked.

So Claire is trying her best to be civil about the whole thing. I actually will say now that Sara won't end up having sex with Holden. Also I forgot to say in the last chapter that Devon is played by Christian Alexander from the Lying Game. He definitely adds something but he won't really be acting like London. Please don't forget to review.


	11. Dancing Girls

Sara's POV

It was Tuesday night and I was preparing for another date with Holden. We had chosen to wait until after _90210_ was over. The project was finished and we were just dating now. Of course, I wasn't his girlfriend and he was still trying to decide between me and Claire. That was a little bit annoying. I had no idea who was in the lead because Claire wouldn't exactly talk to me. Maybe I could get some information from Bailey since the two of them seemed to be friends. I was a bit surprised that Claire wasn't avoiding her like she had the plague. I think I was actually learning stuff from doing my homework. I didn't think it was possible.

"So my boyfriend is going to be here this weekend." Hadley announced. "You need to a little on your toes because he may try to flirt with you. It's more of a test of friendship than anything else."

"Well I don't think I would do that, especially after all that you've done for me." I replied. "So how many dates do you think I would have to go on before he starts to call me his girlfriend?"

"Well it's hard to say." Hadley responded. "You also have to make sure that this doesn't turn him into a player."

"Do you think that can happen?" I asked. I think I may have been a bit of a player myself. "How will is I know if it's happening."

"Well multiple dates on one night is something to watch for." Hadley replied. Yeah, I had done that. "Also an increase in game is something else that you need to be aware of. Maybe you should ask him to the dance on Friday night before he asks your sister or vice versa."

"Where are Megan and Giada?" I asked, noticing their absence.

"They're taking a pottery class that meets at night." Hadley explained "But you really need to ask him out, or get him to do it."

"Okay I guess I can do that." I agreed. "I haven't really gone to many dances."

"Did you not go to prom last year or homecoming?" She asked.

"We didn't have a junior prom." I replied. We really didn't.

"Well that must have sucked." Hadley commented. "We only had like 2 seniors last year but we had a senior prom. Well it was more a prom for everybody since we only have one class."

I wondered why they did that. It kind of sucked that I missed out on that because I didn't get to have prom sex.

"So who was the other senior other than London?" I asked.

"His name was Marcus Little also known as Lil' Little." Hadley answered. So Marcus had been here and also graduated. "He had a song called _Retainer Baby_ that I still haven't heard but sounds stupid. Anyway, I think he and London are dating. I'm not sure if they still are because I haven't checked the tabloids recently."

So he also managed to hook up with London. I don't know how these things work.

"So we need to finish getting you ready." Hadley remarked. "I don't know why you can't have him start coming here."

"This isn't exactly my room." I pointed out. "Besides, we've been meeting on the Sky Deck and that's been working pretty well so why do anything about it."

"Have you thought about going to the pool with him?" She questioned.

"My sister is the lifeguard." I reminded her. "I'm not cruel. I also won't be upset if he chooses her. It won't be the end of the world. So are you all done?"

"We just need some fragrance." Hadley replied as she held out two bottles. "Taylor Swift or Brittney Spears?"

"Taylor Swift. I don't want to go crazy and shave my head." I joked. I then thought for a moment. "Is that in bad taste?"

"I don't think so since she turned out okay." Hadley responded. "If she died from being crazy, then it probably would be."

Hadley sprayed me with it. I had gotten used to it but it was still a little weird wearing it. I mean I had worn cologne but this was different.

"So do I look hot?" I asked before I headed out the door.

"Definitely." She replied.

I headed out to the Sky Deck. I couldn't help but wonder what Devon's duties as assistant manager covered. It wasn't that I wanted to see him. It was just the opposite. I didn't want to see him at all. I don't even know why I was thinking about him.

I saw Holden wearing a suit. He was taking me to one of the more formal restaurants on the ship. Maybe we weren't doing it right because it seems that all we do when go out is eat. We need to do something a bit more exciting.

"You look lovely tonight." He complimented.

"Thank you." I told him. "You clean up nicely yourself."

The two of us headed into the restaurant. He ordered the lobster and I went with the grilled chicken. He said he would pay for it.

"So what does your family do?" I asked.

"Real estate." He responded.

"They sell houses?" I questioned.

"Well more like they own the company that sells the houses." He corrected. "It's in Beverly Hills and you can imagine a lucrative cut."

I tried to think what he meant by lucrative. I think it had to do with money.

"If you excuse me, I need to use the restroom before our food gets here." He replied before he got up. Wow, even as a girl I get left at the table alone.

I then saw Devon was walking through the restaurant. Oh God, please don't let him see me. I then noticed that his eyes seemed to lock on me. Well he saw me but at least he's not coming over here. Wait, why is he walking over here?

"Are you stalking me?" I asked him.

"No I'm checking on all of the patrons to see how their dining experience is going." He told me.

"Well I seem to have just lost my appetite." I replied.

"You know all of this talk of you not being able to stand me makes me think that you're the one who is into me." He said.

"You happen to say this when I am on a date." I remarked. "I wouldn't be into if you were the lie guy on Earth."

I think I might have heard someone say that to me once.

"You can deny all that you want." He replied. He then noticed that Holden was walking back. "Have a lovely evening."

Okay, so he seemed to be great at getting under my skin.

Holden sat back down, apparently having not noticed him.

"So, there's this dance on Friday." I stated. "I mean it sounds kind of lame. I probably wouldn't go unless someone asked me."

"I thought girls like dances." He replied.

"I don't want to go unless I have someone to dance with. Do you want to go with me?" I asked him. If he says yes, then I will have played this perfectly.

"It's the Sadie Hawkins dance, isn't it?" He questioned. I think it was actually. I guess since you asked me first, I will go with you."

Yes! Score one for Sara.

Claire's POV

Okay so being a lifeguard isn't all that great. It does get kind of boring at times. Also while I'm doing this, Holden is on a date with Sara. I can't say that I'm not jealous. I haven't even been able to kiss him yet. Why is it so easy for her? I had no doubt that he would choose her. I guess the best thing that I could hope for would be for the two of them not to come here together.

The next night, I was working again and I couldn't help but notice that Sara and her friends had shown up, but not with Holden.

"So how did the date go?" I asked Sara.

"It went good." Sara replied. "He's going with me to the dance on Friday."

Damn that meant that I would have to go alone or with someone else. Well I had been to dances alone before so I guess that was not so bad.

"Don't feel so bad." Hadley commented. "I'm sure that there are plenty of guys who don't have dates."

But would I want to go with them? Would they be better looking than Woody?

Eventually it was Friday afternoon and I still didn't have a date. I needed to find one quickly because I didn't want to go without. Even Woody was going with Addison. That didn't exactly leave me with very many options. Maybe there was a random passenger that I could ask out. There always seemed to be those when I was guy that Zack was hooking up with.

I surveyed the Sky Deck and I couldn't help but notice a guy around my age. He seemed to be choking as well. I went and gave him the Heimlich maneuver and he spit out a piece of hot dog. I'm glad I didn't have to clean that up.

"Thank you." He said.

"It's part of my job of being a lifeguard." I told him. "I'm supposed to guard your life."

"Well you're doing a good job at it." He replied as he looked at my uniform. I blushed at that "I wish there was some way I could repay you."

"It was nothing." I told him. "But if you want to repay me, there's this school dance tonight. I don't have a date."

"Yeah, I can take you." He agreed. "I'm Derek by the way."

"Claire." I responded. Well that solved my date dilemma.

"So when do you want me to pick you up?" He asked.

"Well the dance starts at 7:00, so 7:00." I told him. That would probably give my enough time to get ready. I have to tell Maxine that I managed to find a date after all. I don't know if she had a date, though. I hadn't heard anything about that.

After my shift was over around 5:00, I went to my room so I could get ready. Maxine was not yet there, so I hopped in the shower.

"I need to use that when you're done in there." She told me, seemingly walking in after I did.

After I was done, I stepped out wearing a towel. "So do you have a date?" I asked.

"No I was going to go solo." She replied, as she started to undress. "Did you ever manage to find a date since Holden is going with Sara?"

"Yeah I asked this guy out after I saved his life when he was choking." I responded.

"That's pretty good luck." She commented. "Makes me wish I had taken the job."

I ended up wearing a black strapless dress with a horizontal stripe in the center and a pleated hem. I went with a standard ponytail. It was basically what I always went with. Maxine wore a green dress.

When I got to the dance, I saw that Sara was ironically wearing a white dress. Back in old movies, good guys would wear white and bad guys would wear black. I don't think this could be said here. I think Sara was considered the bad girl of the two of us, but bad is a relative term. It only covered one shoulder and showed no cleavage. She was with Holden of course.

"So should we hit the dance floor right away or wait a little?" Derek asked me.

I listened to the music and I couldn't help but notice the song. I loved this song, but I don't know if I could dance at a speed. I guessed that I could try it. I mean I wouldn't be making a fool of myself if I was having fun.

Pretty much as soon as we got to the dance floor, a slower song started to play. It was Lady Antebellum's _Need You Now._ I was actually a little surprised that the song was approved since it contained a few drinking references.

This would be my time doing this, but I did know how the girl was supposed to dance. I noticed Sara was dancing with Holden. She looked happy but he seemed to be looking at me. Why did that make me feel bad? I mean I liked Holden, after all.

Derek and I left the dance floor after the song was over.

"I'm going to go get some punch." I announced.

I walked over to the punchbowl. I don't think anyone would be able to spike it because we're on a boat and it's illegal to bring alcohol. Of course the only security that we have is Kirby. Although, maybe that Devon guy would do something about that.

By the punchbowl, I managed to see Holden.

"So who's your date?" He asked me.

"His name is Derek." I replied. He looked a bit jealous. He must really like me. "He's a passenger."

"How did you two meet?" He questioned.

"He was choking on a hot dog and I gave him the Heimlich." I explained.

"So he's not staying around?" He asked hopefully.

"No I don't think so." I replied. It was then that he suddenly gave me a kiss. I was stunned but managed to kiss back.

"Claire, I want you to be my girlfriend." He told me. The two of us then turned to see Sara standing by the punchbowl.

Okay the first thing is this is the midseason finale. I will taking some time to work on other stories. Second, Derek is played by Chord Overstreet. So Holden made his choice. What's next for Sara? Please don't forget to review.


	12. Birthday Girls

Sara's POV

I think I dodged a bullet. I almost did something out of anger that I might've regretted. What am I talking about? I walked out Claire's date's room and zipped my dressed up. It had come off but I changed my mind before he got any farther. Having sex with a guy out of spite seemed wrong and I also didn't want to do it because I wouldn't be comfortable with it. I don't even know if he had if he had any condoms and getting pregnant would be even worse because I'm not supposed to have a uterus.

I went to see Hadley. I had to know what she thought about this.

I knocked on her door. When I opened it, she looked like she had been crying while still wearing her red dress from the dance.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Giada's leaving the ship." She remarked as I entered the room. "Her dad's been running a Ponzi scheme."

I vaguely knew what that was from that Madoff guy. I did know it was illegal though.

"It gets worse." She added. "Turns out that Megan is feeling homesick and has requested to leave. Please tell me that you're not planning on going anywhere. I don't think I could take it."

I gave her a hug. I actually cared for her as a friend. "I'm not going anywhere." I promised. "I waited two years for this."

"I could really use some company tonight." Hadley remarked. "Do you think you could spend the night?"

"I could if I went back to my room to get some pajamas." I stated.

"It's almost curfew." Hadley reminded me. "I don't know if you could get back in time. I could loan you something."

"I guess I could just sleep in my underwear if it doesn't fit." I agreed. "But I need to tell you about something."

"What?" She asked.

"After Holden told Claire that he chose her, I went and found her date. I went back to his room. She took my dress off but we didn't have sex." I explained.

"That was probably a good idea." She stated. "One night stands can only result in bad things. Did you notice any condoms in his room?"

"I didn't see any." I replied.

"Then yeah definitely good that you didn't. You could have gotten pregnant or a disease. Neither would be favorable options." She declared. "We need some ice cream."

"I heard ice cream can cause nightmares if you eat it before bed." I responded.

"That's just a rumor." Hadley remarked as she filled me a bowl and gave me a spoon.

"Well at least you have your boyfriend coming tomorrow." I stated.

"Yeah too bad all our attempts to find you one have been for naught." She commented. "Maybe we should just do it the old-fashioned way and wait for your meet cute to happen."

"Meet what?" I asked in confusion.

"You know those clever situations in romantic comedies where the boy and the girl meet or on rare occasions, the boy and boy or girl and girl." She explained.

"So are we supposed to get new students since Megan and Giada are leaving?" I asked.

"I don't know. That might be something to ask Mr. Moseby." She replied.

After we ate our ice cream, the two of us changed for bed.

"Maybe you should ask Mr. Moseby if you can move in here and have any new girls move in with Bailey." Hadley suggested. "You lived at the hotel he used to manage, didn't you?"

"I guess I can bring it up." I agreed before we went to sleep.

In the morning, I woke up in what was formerly Giada's bed.

"Damn it." Hadley cursed as she noticed the clock. "We overslept. There's no time for breakfast before we go meet him."

She rushed and pulled on a black and white dress. I went with a purple halter top and miniskirt. I had great legs and I should show them off.

"So we need to go to the lobby like now." Hadley urged. She seemed kind of stressed out. But I guess having two of your friends abandon you could do that.

The two of us walked to the lobby. As soon as Hadley got there, she walked over to a guy with spiky brown hair and hugged him.

"Sara, this is my boyfriend, Asher." Hadley introduced.

"Nice to meet you." I replied. "Hadley didn't really have the best day yesterday so she really needs you."

"What happened?" Asher asked in concern.

"Just some friends leaving the ship." Hadley replied. "I am really happy that you're here. Too bad none of your friends are here. I don't want Sara to have to feel like the third wheel when we are together."

"I could give you two some privacy if you want to go on a date." I offered. "I could probably find something to do. I need to go talk to Mr. Moseby right now."

And that's exactly what I did.

"Hey Mr. Moseby." I greeted him.

"Hello, Sara." He reciprocated. "Do you need something?"

"I was wondering if there were going to be any new students coming aboard." I said.

"We will be picking 2 new students in a few days." He replied, looking up at me for about a second. "There will be one male and one female."

"But two girls left." I pointed out.

"Well we were under our limit for males to begin with." He explained. "Is there anything else?"

"Yeah, I was wondering it would be okay if I move in with Hadley instead of her getting a new roommate." I stated.

"I supposed if both you and Miss DuBois want that then you can do it." He declared.

I smiled and walked back over to where Hadley and Asher were sitting.

"What did he say?" Hadley asked me.

"As of this exact moment, I am officially your new roommate." I told her in excitement.

Bailey didn't exactly take the news of me moving out well. I really wanted to be with Hadley.

A few days later, it was a significant day. Not only was it the day that we would be getting new students but it was also my, and also Claire's, 17th birthday. I woke up early to see if we had gotten any mail. It sometimes arrives at weird times when we're in Europe.

I went there and noticed that there was a line. Since when is there a line for the post office at in the morning? I sighed and stood in line.

"So why are you here?" A guy with shiny black hair asked.

"It's my birthday and I'm seeing if I have any presents." I replied.

"Oh, Happy Birthday." He told me.

"Not to be rude, but you don't even know me." I stated.

"Oh I'm Braxton." He replied as he held his hand out.

"Sara." I remarked as I shook it. "So what are you doing here?"

"I'm a new student and I forgot to pack something so my parents were going to send it to me." He answered. I guess this was the new guy that Moseby was talking about.

I watched as the line moved. When I got to the front, I realized just who was manning the mail and groaned.

"Why does it have to be you?" I asked. Seriously why did it have to be him?

"Hello to you too, Sara." Devon greeted. "What brings here this time of morning."

"I was wondering if you had any letters or other mail for me." I stated, trying not to look at him.

"Well it seems I have a box for you." He announced as he pulled out said box. I wonder what was inside it. "I also have one for your sister. What is the occasion?"

"That's really none of your business." I told him.

"Well I don't have to give it to you." He said.

"It's my birthday today: our birthday." I relented.

"I know." He responded as he gave me an envelope. "I just had to wait for you to say it to give you this."

"What's this?" I asked as I opened it. It was a certificate good for a dinner for two at any restaurant on the ship. "Are you giving this to me as an offer for a date or something?"

"Actually it's a new policy I've set up." He explained. "All students get a free dinner on their birthday. It gives them a chance to try out restaurants and later come back and pay."

That actually seemed like a good idea. It seemed better than anything Mr. Moseby ever came up with. It was also really nice.

"Thank you." I told him because it was the polite thing to do. I then took the box and went back to my room.

The box was from both mom and dad. There were two dresses in there. One was new and one looked like it was out of the 80s. It had a note attached.

_Dear Sara,  
_ _This is the dress that you mother wore when we first met. And as to not freak you, we didn't anything R-rated in it. You don't have to wear it, but I knew some girls like keepsakes and I figured that you would want it more than your sister. _

_Love, Dad_

That was sweet that he kept that. I don't know if I would ever wear it though.

"That's really sweet." Hadley commented from behind. I jumped because I hadn't realized that she had been looking over my shoulder. "Sorry didn't mean to startle you."

Claire's POV

I woke up in the morning with a slight smile on my face. I mean it was my birthday but I didn't really want to spend it as a girl.

"Happy Birthday." Maxine told me.

"Thanks." I muttered.

"You don't seem very happy." She commented.

"I don't know. It's just that 17 isn't really any sort of milestone." I stated.

"Yes but you still get presents, regardless." She pointed out. "You should check to see if you got anything from your parents."

"I think I'm going to wait until lunch for that." I told her.

"Well are you excited about what Holden is going to get you?" She asked slyly.

"I don't know what to expect." I admitted. "We haven't been together very long and I only told him it was my birthday once."

"I can think of a great present to get for your birthday." She remarked with a coy smile.

"What?" I asked, not getting what she was getting at.

"You know you act like such a naïve virgin sometimes." She said. At that I realized what she was talking about and blushed rather brightly.

"I don't know if I want to do that." I replied.

"You don't want to be the only girl in school who's a virgin." She told me. "Besides sex is really fun."

"I didn't know that you've had it." I said. I mean it was fun with Bailey but I'm not sure if should do it as a girl.

"Well I've done it with more than one person at once." She reminded me or at least seemed to be trying to. It may have been something that if I had always been a girl that I would know. I still didn't need that image.

"TMI." I told her. "I hope I can still eat breakfast now."

"The point is you don't need to be afraid." Maxine replied. "I'm not even sure that he'll ask you for sex. The point if you he does, you should accept it."

"I'll think about it." I promised.

I think that this year the chance of us having a party weren't very good. London funded the party last year and she wasn't here so it probably wasn't happening. If there was anything that I wanted for my birthday, it was to have a party. I guess I would just have to settle for whatever else I get.

When we arrived at in class, I couldn't help but notice a new girl. She had dark brown hair and was wearing a blue dress with a white cardigan.

"Hi." She greeted me excitedly. "I'm Wendy. What's your name?"

"Claire." I remarked.

"Do you want to be my friend?" She questioned. This girl seemed to be very manic. "I don't have any here yet."

"Sure I guess." I replied. Maybe she wouldn't be so bad to be around. I didn't know her and maybe she just had a lot of Red Bull this morning. I don't believe in energy drinks.

"So do you know if there are any cute guys at this school?" She asked me.

"There are a few but one of them happens to be my boyfriend." I told her. I wished I could show her but we were the only ones in the room.

After about a minute, Holden and Bailey walked into the room together.

"Oh he's cute." Wendy commented. "Too bad he already has a girlfriend."

"Yes, me." I pointed out.

"Then who is that girl?" Wendy asked as she looked over to them as they were walking over.

"Her name is Bailey." The redhead replied. "And by the way, when you speak very loudly, people can hear what you say across the room."

"So I just had a lot of Red Bull this morning." Wendy told them. Wow I nailed it.

Holden then gave me a hug and a kiss followed by a "happy birthday."

"It's your birthday today?" Wendy questioned. "Are you having a party?"

"No I don't think so." I replied. "It's also my sister's birthday and didn't really organize one. I really haven't heard anything that it's going to happen unless there's a surprise party in the works."

Before class started, Sara and Hadley walked in. Sara was wearing a leather jacket over a yellow dress that looked brand new. I have no idea when she got it.

At lunch, I went with Maxine to see if I got any mail. I was presented with a box and also an envelope that was good for dinner at a restaurant on the ship. I could use that on a date with Holden some time. I opened the box and there was a cute dress and what appeared to be a letter from dad.

_Dear Claire,  
I'm sorry I can't be there for your birthday but I do have good news. I've organized a party for you and your sister tonight. It probably won't be as good as your Sweet 16 but I hope it's okay._

_Love Dad_

That night, I was overwhelmed at what he did. Not only was there a huge party but apparently Dad had hired One Direction to play for us. Every girl on the ship was going to envy us. Actually, probably every _woman_ on the ship was going to envy us. I happened to see Sara chatting with Niall. Well I guess since she was single she could do that.

"So this is the part where we sing the song that I know all of you girls are going to love." Liam announced. "Can I have both of the Martin girls up here?"

I walked there and took a seat next to Sara. There was a barricade to keep girls from touching them but we were on the other side.

_You're insecure  
Don't know what for  
You turn heads when walk through door-or-or  
Don't need makeup to cover up  
Being the way that you are is enough_

_Everyone else in the room can see it  
Everyone else but you_

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else  
The way that you flip your gets me overwhelmed  
But when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
If only you saw what I could see  
You'd understand why I want you so desperately  
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
That's what makes you beautiful_

_So come come on  
You got it wrong  
To prove I'm right I put in a song  
I don't know why you're being shy  
And turn away when I look into eye-eye-eye_

_Everyone else in the room can see it  
Everyone else but you_

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else  
The way that you flip your gets me overwhelmed  
But when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
If only you saw what I could see  
You'd understand why I want you so desperately  
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
That's what makes you beautiful_

_Na-na-na-na-na  
Na-na-na-na-na  
Na-na-na-na-na  
Na-na-na-na-na_

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else  
The way that you flip your gets me overwhelmed  
But when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful_

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else  
The way that you flip your gets me overwhelmed  
But when smile at the ground it aint hard to tell  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
If only you saw what I could see  
You'd understand why I want you so desperately  
Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
You don't know oh  
You don't know you're beautiful  
That's what makes you beautiful_

Okay so I was a little turned on after that. I'm not going to lie. In addition to a necklace, Holden also helped me remedy that. All I call say is best birthday ever.

The hiatus is over. Yay! So the One Direction has finally come full circle. Kurt's gift for Sara definitely has sentimental value. Plus there are new characters in this chapter. Braxton is played by Darren Criss, Wendy is played Sarah Hyland and Asher is played by Nick Roux. Anyway, don't forget to review.


	13. Bonding Girls

Sara's POV

Okay, that was an amazing night. Not only did I get to meet Niall from One Direction, I also slept with him, with a condom, of course. It turns out that it feels even better for girls. I even consulted Hadley, who said that since I was single, it was okay to have one night stands with popstars as long as I used protection.

Anyway, I knew that was all I was going to get from him and I wouldn't obsess about it. I mean it was like that when I slept with Selena Gomez last year. It was before she started dating Justin Bieber. I actually did want to find something serious from being around Hadley and Asher. They managed to not be completely mushy and saccharine (a word I learned from studying with her) when they were together. The only problem is I have to find someone to have something serious with. That's not going to be easy.

I went back to the room that I shared with Hadley with a smile on my face. I don't know what girl wouldn't be after doing it with it a superstar. Sure I wasn't supposed to be a girl but I really felt like one now.

"So what happened?" She asked. "I need the details."

"Well it involved a bed, no clothes, and a condom." I told her.

"Sounds sexy." Hadley commented. "Kind of makes me wish I wasn't in a relationship so I could score with one of those Brits."

"Niall's Irish." I pointed out.

"Yeah but the rest of them are British." She countered. "Besides, Liam is my favorite and he's British. I was so jealous of you. I wish my parents had paid them to play at my birthday but it wouldn't have been on the ship since my birthday is in the summer."

"The only thing that I'm worried about is I hope that that's not the best sex of my life because that would mean that nothing else would live up to it." I proposed.

"I don't think that's really much of a problem." She pointed out. "Though, you probably shouldn't tell guys that you slept with him. It will make them jealous."

"Well if they're jealous of that, they probably shouldn't be with me anyway." I stated. Okay I know I've heard that before. I think a girl might have told me that.

"Well said." She complimented. "Now is probably a good time for bed. Even the birthday has school in the morning."

I rolled my eyes and began to change.

"So maybe since Megan and Giada, we should try to make some more friends." I suggested. "I mean my sister's really not that bad when she's not flaunting her intelligent."

And Claire didn't really do that as much as Cody did. Maybe being turned into a girl actually helped her learn some humility. I can only hope that she learns a lesson from all this. I think I surely have learned one.

"I guess we could give it a shot." Hadley agreed before the two of us went to bed.

We woke up in the morning and decided to head for breakfast. We needed to find a table to sit at. We found one wear Claire, Max (or I guess Maxine as she liked to be called now), Holden, Bailey and that new guy Braxton were sitting.

"Can we sit here?" I asked nervously. It wasn't more about me, but about Hadley, who actually don't think was well-liked around school.

"Sure I guess so." Claire replied. "You're free to eat wherever you want."

We put our trays down and then there was an awkward silence. Hmm when silence not awkward?

"So I don't really know a lot of you except for Bailey." Hadley remarked. She then looked at Braxton. "Especially not you, because you're new, but I probably need more friends than just Sara and would like to get to know all of you."

"Well I'm open to the idea." Braxton stated.

"You really don't seem like a very open person." Maxine commented.

"Well I like to have a few close friends that I can count on rather than a bunch of friends." Hadley explained. "That's exactly why I don't believe in Facebook."

I already knew this but they didn't.

"I've never met anyone without a Facebook." Braxton commented.

"Well now you have." Hadley pointed out.

"So we were going to do the scavenger later." Holden announced. "Maybe you two could join us."

"Well everyone but me is." Maxine added. "I have to practice my dancing."

"What's the prize?" I asked.

"Last I heard it was a $100 voucher that can be used as cash anywhere on the ship." Holden explained. "It's good for anything from clothes to food to golf clubs."

"Isn't there a two-person limit for that?" Hadley inquired.

"Yeah we were going to do teams of two." Claire explained.

"Okay so how about you and Holden are on one team, I'll be on a team with Bailey and Sara can be with the new guy."

"I have a name." Braxton said. Actually he hadn't told her.

"Yes I know, and I'll probably learn it eventually but right now you're the new guy." Hadley told him.

So later, the six of us were on the Sky Deck as we waited for the competition to start. I heard Hadley say something to Bailey.

"No I didn't tell her." Hadley whispered. "I thought you would have told her. I haven't told anyone."

Okay I needed to find out what they were talking about. I don't think that I could get it from Hadley, so I would have to get the information from Bailey.

Anyway, the scavenger hunt was starting so that meant that I had to spend some time with Braxton. I actually wasn't looking forward to that.

"So did you have fun at your party last night?" He asked.

I don't really think that was a question worth asking because it seemed pretty obvious.

"Yes, I had a lot of fun." I responded with a smile on my face.

"So do you like it when guys sing to you?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I mean the whole thing with the band singing to you, you obviously must have liked that." He stated. I didn't like that he was making assumptions here.

"It was nice but I don't exactly know what you're implying." I told him. "Do you think that if you sing that I'm going to make out with you? Because I am not going to."

"That's not what I was saying at all." He responded.

"Oh." I replied guiltily for accusing him. "How about we just see what we can find?"

The two of us ended up winning the contest, but I decided to let him have the certificate. I checked my phone and found a text from Claire.

"_We need to hang tomorrow night_." It read. "_Just you and me_."

"_Just tell me the place." _I texted back.

Claire's POV

I waited in the restaurant for Sara to show up. It would be the first real alone time that we had spent together in a while. I know it was hard, especially since I had a boyfriend now. I also know that we spent some time fighting over him. I called this meeting because even on our birthday, we didn't do much together.

Sara arrived after a few minutes.

"So why did you choose the new Aqua-Lounge?" Sara asked.

"Because it gives us a great view of the ocean." I explained. "You know there really isn't a regular student hangout on the ship."

Devon was walking by and decided to chime in.

"That's precisely why I am having a student lounge built." He replied. I don't know why but whenever he was around, Sara seemed to tense up. "As the name suggests, it will be for students and also teen passengers."

"When will it be done?" I asked.

"Probably in about two months when you come back from winter break." He explained. "So I hope you both have a wonderful meal and if you need anything, you can see me in my office."

He walked away and I decided to confront Sara on the issue with him.

"What is up with you and him?" I grilled.

"Nothing we just don't get along well." Sara explained. "I kept my mouth shut because I didn't want to make a scene. Hadley seems to think I have a thing for him."

"Do you?" I asked. I would be surprised if she did. I mean sure, Zack had always had a thing for Maddie…okay so I wouldn't be that surprised.

"No I don't like him…in any form." She declared. "So how are things going between you and Holden?"

"Well after the party we went back to his room and…" I stated.

"I don't need to hear any more." She told me. "But what did you think of it?"

"It felt good." I replied. "It felt really good. Have you had…"

"Yes." She answered simply. "With Niall."

"Who's Niall?" I asked. I didn't know anyone on the ship with that name.

"From One Direction." She clarified. Okay that was surprising. I know Zack had had sex with Selena Gomez but it was still surprising. "We should probably order."

"So is there anything in particular that you want to talk about?" I questioned.

"Well how are you adjusting?" Sara asked. "Is there anything that you like about this?"

"I actually think that I do like getting to wear a bunch of nice clothes." I admitted. "Probably the worst thing was my period."

"I haven't had mine yet." She responded. "What's it really like?"

"Well there's bleeding and cramps and migraines." I explained. "It's not good at all. You're not going to like it. I wouldn't be surprised if you get one soon."

"With my luck, it will probably be tomorrow." Sara declared.

"Then maybe you should get some tampons tonight." I suggested. "It would be better than having to wash blood out of your sheets and clothes."

"Can we please talk about something less disgusting?" I requested. "Anything else, I'll even talk about school over this."

"Okay how did you do on your that test last week?" I questioned.

"I got an 89." She answered proudly. I was absolutely flabbergasted. Hadley must be some sort of miracle worker. Or maybe she just taught Sara how to study and apply herself. Whatever their study methods were, they seemed to be working.

"So did you get that dress you were wearing at the party from Mom?" I questioned.

"Yeah I decided not to wear the one that I got from Dad." She replied. She didn't say anything about a dress from Dad. I thought the party and One Direction was our present from him.

"Dad bought you a dress, too?" I asked in surprise.

"No he gave me a dress." She corrected. "It used to belong to Mom. He said that she was wearing it when they first met."

"You should wear it sometime." I suggested.

"I want to wear it sometime but I don't know when the right time to wear it is." She told me. "It's from the 80s, so I can't just wear any time. I know some people say 80s clothes are in again but I don't want to just randomly wear clothes that are older than I am. I don't think that would be very fashionable."

"You know I never expected that you would be a fashionista." I commented.

"So how are things going between you and Bailey?" She inquired.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"I mean the two of you seem like you're friends now." She clarified. "I think it's safe to say that you don't hate her anymore."

"Well I know she was very upset when you moved out." I said. "I still don't understand your reasoning behind that. You've known Bailey for a long time."

"Well I felt more of a connection with Hadley and I also felt really bad for her." She explained. "This was nice. We should do something like this again some time."

So here we have some good old-fashioned twin bonding. The two of them needed it. Also we learn what Sara did on her birthday and they're a bit of a merger between the groups. Please don't forget to review


	14. Boston Girls

Sara's POV

It's been two months and winter break has passed. We are now back in school. I am excited because I get to see Hadley again. She went back to New Orleans for break just like I went to Boston. I still didn't have a boyfriend but I wasn't having a string of one-night stands like I did when I was a guy. I was still looking for one but I ended up on a string of bad dates with guys who usually just wanted to get in my pants. I also got my report card for the first semester and somehow I got an A in English and Bs in everything else. Claire was as shocked as I was. I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact I was not dating or just was a result of studying.

Anyway, once again, Claire, Maxine and I boarded the ship. I was glad that I at least had the two of them to keep me company. The best thing is we got a trip to the spa for Christmas and that was a lot of fun and also very relaxing. Now I know why girls love to get pampered.

I hugged Hadley as soon as I saw her.

"How was your break?" Hadley asked.

"It was weird being back in Boston." I commented. It was always like that during breaks. Though, seeing our dad was even weirder. That was not a common occurrence. What was even weirder was he and Mom seemed to be getting along. If I didn't know better, I would think that they were still married. "How was New Orleans?"

"The gulf is always crazy during the winter." Hadley explained. "People love it because it's warm. I have seemed to have forgotten my manners. How are you two?"

"Fine." Claire replied.

"Did any of you get notable gifts that you want to talk about?" Hadley asked. "Cute dresses, gift cards, obscure trinkets?"

"I got a sewing machine." Claire replied. For some reason, Claire was taking interest in fashion design. "I'm going to attempt to make some clothes but I'll need to get some fabrics first."

"Well I think some good advice to make sure that whatever you wear looks good first." Hadley offered. "You don't want to step out in something unflattering. But who knows, maybe if you're good, I'll pay you to make a prom dress for me."

I pulled Hadley into the girls' room.

"What?" She asked.

"That was kind of condescending." I pointed out.

"Well I wasn't trying to be." Hadley replied. "I was actually trying to be nice."

She then looked around the bathroom.

"Why is there a urinal in here?" Hadley asked.

Oh crap. But this was where the girls' room was. How did we end up in here? Okay this was very embarrassing. I guess it wasn't as embarrassing as being a boy mistakenly walking out of the girls' bathroom. That also sometimes came with slaps to the face.

"We should get out of here." I suggested.

"That would be a good idea." Hadley agreed.

The good news is we managed to get out without any boys seeing us.

"Okay so actually do have to pee." Hadley remarked. "You should probably touch up your mascara."

So that led to us going to the actual girls' bathroom.

"So there was a little mix-up with the bathrooms." I explained.

"Yeah here's a useful piece of info." Hadley added. "There two bathrooms have switched. So you may want to check before you walk into the men's room. Anyway, I think now would be a good time to get something to eat. We should check out the new student lounge. I hear they have a McDonalds and a Subway."

Wow you can literally get McDonalds and Subway everywhere now.

"I think I want to get settled in first." Claire replied.

"Yeah it might be good to unpack." Maxine added. I guess that made sense.

So that led to us heading to our room.

"So how have the dates gone?" Hadley asked as I opened my first suitcase.

"Not great." I answered. "I just don't understand why I can't have a successful relationship."

"Have you thought that you may be looking for love in all the wrong places?" Hadley suggested. "Maybe there's someone on the ship that you can go out with."

"Well it's not Holden and it's not Frank." I remarked.

"What about Braxton?" Hadley suggested. "I mean aside from being kind of a dork, he's cute."

"I guess I could go out with him." I agreed. "But I think he might be kind of a perv."

"What guy isn't?" Hadley quipped. "But when it comes down to it, everyone has their pervy sides. As long as he isn't doing anything inappropriate, it should be okay."

"That's insightful." I commented.

"What can I say? I've had my share of relationships." Hadley replied as I finished putting my stuff away. "But seriously, give Braxton a chance. He may surprise you."

"So do you mind if I ask how you and Asher fell in love?" I inquired.

"Well he asked me to prom last year and I said no." She answered. "I already had a date with someone else and didn't really like him anyway. I then found my date dancing and making out with someone else. That was not supposed to be normal. I went out to the Sky Deck to cry and there was Asher. He comforted me and then danced with me. From there, I knew that I had found the one."

The idea that someone could cheat on Hadley was a little farfetched but I guess that wasn't the point of the story. The point was that she found love in what seemed like a hopeless place. Hmm, that sounds like it would make a good song. If only I knew how to write songs. But I guess I agree with her point that I should give Braxton a chance.

"Okay I'm ready to go to the student lounge." I stated. "Maybe Braxton will be there."

The two of us headed to the Student Lounge. It looked impressive. Devon was standing the doorway.

"Hey, welcome Girls." He greeted. "I hope you enjoy the new student lounge."

"It looks nice." Hadley commented. There was a flatscreen TV, a pool table, a foosball table, a McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Subway, and a second juice bar. Okay it was awesome. I wish Moseby had thought of something this cool.

"I have to ask would either of you be interested in jobs here?" Devon questioned.

"I don't think so." I responded. The idea of him as my boss was not ideal.

"Me neither, food service isn't really my thing." Hadley said. "We're gonna go inside now."

We walked inside and I happened to notice Braxton…behind the cash register at McDonald's.

"Hi." I greeted him.

"Hey Sara." He replied. "Can I get you anything?"

"One Southern Style Chicken Sandwich and a water." I answered. "Oh and dinner tomorrow night."

"I don't understand." Braxton replied.

"It's simple." Hadley spelled out. "She is asking you on a date. Now it's your job to say yes to her."

"Alright sure." Braxton replied excitedly. I glared at him. "I mean, yes, I will go out with you."

After we got our food, we resumed conversation.

"Yeah so he's definitely a dork." I stated. "But we'll see if it works out."

"Who knows he may surprise you." Hadley warned me.

Claire's POV

I woke up to get ready for class. At least that's what I wanted to do. Instead, I found myself headed to the bathroom to vomit. All of a sudden, school didn't seem very likely. I don't know why I was puking my guts out but I couldn't help myself. There was a knock on the door.

"Are you okay in there?" Maxine asked.

"I don't think so." I answered.

"Well I'm going to stay here until you stop puking." She promised. I didn't want her to miss class because she was taking care of me.

I finally exited the bathroom after a few minutes. I felt like I really needed a mint.

"I don't think we have anything for nausea in here." Maxine replied.

"I think I'm okay to go to class." I replied. I wasn't really that hungry right now because it might not stay down. I got up and then felt the need to go back to the bathroom. Oh damn it.

"I'm going to head down to the pharmacy to get you some medicine." She told me.

So I was stuck waiting until she got back. I was trying my best to keep whatever was left in my stomach inside of my stomach. What had I eaten to make my stomach act up like that? After my exit, I decided to sit by the toilet and read a book in case I needed to barf again. I really hoped that I didn't have to.

Unfortunately, I ended up leaning over the toilet once more before Maxine returned. She entered the bathroom with a bag in her hand.

"So I got you a few different things." She stated.

"Well for starters, I got you some chewable Pepto-Bismol tablets." She explained. I took one and unwrapped it before I put it on my mouth and began to chew.

"Thanks." I said to her.

"I also got you some Listerine to wash the taste of vomit out of your mouth." She added. That sounded like it would be good right now as well. I took the bottle and swished it around my mouth for a few minutes before I spit it out into the sink.

"So did you get anything else?" I asked.

"Well I did get one more thing." Maxine responded. "This one is kind of a big deal."

"I don't see what could be a bigger deal than me being sick." I stated. "It's probably just food poisoning or something."

"It could be, but it's been about two months since you first had sex with Holden, hasn't it?" She asked.

"Yes…" I confirmed, though I don't know where she was going with this. "It was the night of my birthday."

"Do you happen to remember if you used a condom?" She questioned.

"What does this have to do with me throwing up?" I exclaimed.

"I think it might be morning sickness." Maxine stated. She reached into the bag and pulled out a First Response pregnancy test.

"I can't be pregnant." I told her.

"Well you should take this to make sure." She responded. "Do you know what to do?"

I ended up having to pee on it. That was pretty humiliating and also pretty hard to aim. I really wondered how long it would take me to get an answer. After a few minutes, we could get an answer.

I looked at it, hopefully it would say no.

So is Claire pregnant? If you've read my previous work, you may notice similarities between the scene and my story Boston We Have A Problem. This was intentional but we don't know the result of the test. Also will Sara and Braxton's relationship work out? Please don't forget to review.


	15. Relationship Girls

Claire's POV

I looked away before I could see the result. I didn't want to know.

"You look at it." I told Maxine. "I can't."

When she didn't say anything for a few seconds, I assumed the worst.

"I'm pregnant, aren't I?" I asked. "This is so bad."

"Claire…" She tried to say.

"I'm not going to get into college now and I don't even know how to raise a kid." I babbled.

"Claire…" Maxine tried again.

"And I don't know what my mom will think or what Holden will think." I continued.

"Claire!" She shouted. "You're not pregnant. It's negative."

"Oh thank God." I remarked, taking a deep breath. Though, I still felt nauseous.

"I guess it is just a stomach virus." She commented. "I'm still going to take care of you until you're better."

"Aren't you worried about getting sick?" I asked.

"Don't worry about that." Maxine told me. "Just be glad that you got lucky this time. You should probably make sure that you always use a condom in the future."

"This sounds like some sort of after-school special they did in the 80s." I remarked.

"So do you know what kind of foods you're supposed to eat when you have an upset stomach?" She asked, not commenting on that.

"I'm pretty sure that the only things that I can eat are ginger and toast." I said.

"They sell gingerbread at the convenience store." Maxine pointed out.

A few days later, I was feeling better and was able to see Holden again. The first thing that he did was kiss me.

"Wouldn't it have been a good idea to ask how I was feeling before doing that?" I questioned.

"Well considering the fact that you're out of your room, it's kind of implied." He pointed out. "So, are you feeling better?"

"I am." I stated. "I did have some time to do some sewing. I made this dress that I'm wearing."

"That actually looks pretty good." He commented. "It doesn't at all look like one of those ugly dresses that those girls seem to make that look horrible."

"Are you lying to me?" I asked.

"No, I'm not lying to you." He declared. "I actually really like it."

"So did you do anything else while you were in your room all day?" Holden asked.

"Well there was something else, but I'm not sure how to talk about it." I answered.

"You can tell me." Holden assured him.

"Well Maxine thought that my nausea was caused by morning sickness so I took a pregnancy test." I explained.

"You're preg…." He shouted before I covered his mouth.

"No I'm not." I responded. "The test was negative. It was probably just that shrimp taco I ate."

"Yeah, I remember having some bad shrimp some time." He stated. "I just don't know where."

That made me a little nervous because I remember the time with what I call the Groundhog Day Loop that had us stuck in a vortex each time we crossed the International Date Line. That was a pain in the ass to get out of and it didn't really help me with Bailey at all. Come to think of it, maybe that whole six-month plan was kind of creepy and stalkerish.

"So do you know where we are, right now?" I asked. "I haven't really been keeping track."

"We're in Amsterdam." Holden explained. I could think of a few different things that Amsterdam was known for and most of them weren't good. "And before you ask, both Mr. Moseby and Devon have banned bringing pot on the ship."

"Isn't it illegal since the ship is part of America?" I questioned.

"Yes it is." Holden confirmed. "Also, since it has been a few days since we've done anything together, I want to take you out on a date."

"I guess we can do that." I agreed. "As long as it doesn't involve drugs."

"There are plenty of places in Amsterdam don't involve drugs." Holden explained.

"Can we just stay on the ship?" I requested, not wanting to get involved in anything Amsterdam related.

"Sure we can do that." Holden agreed. "I also think we should cool it on the sex, especially the unprotected variety."

I blushed as we went over to a restaurant. I didn't know what I would do. I did have this strange feeling that things weren't going anywhere. When I was with Bailey, it could be exciting at times. This was just…boring. I didn't know if I should break up with him or not. I think I needed to break up with him rather than continue with this boring relationship.

We went to the restaurant and like many of our dates it was good, but once again, boring. I now knew that I had to do it.

When we got to my room, I stood in front of the door.

"Holden, I don't think this is working better us." I told him.

"What makes you think that?" He asked in surprise.

"While I was sick, I really had some time to think about our relationship and I came to the realization that I'm bored. I want something exciting. I just don't think that I can have that with you." I stated. I didn't let him respond and walked into the room and grabbed some fabric. I would need to make a new dress to celebrate being single.

Sara's POV

I was getting ready for my big date with Braxton. We were going to the club part of the student lounge. They were hosting an 80s night and I was wearing the dress of Mom's that Dad gave me for my birthday. I knew that I would use it eventually. I felt butterflies in my stomach. I hope that's what it was and it wasn't that stomach virus that was going around. Claire had caught it. Hadley stepped out of the shower with her towel covering her body. She was going to be accompanying us, but she said that she wasn't going to be a 3rd wheel.

"So that dress was your mom's right?" Hadley asked.

"Yeah." I answered. "Do I look okay in it?"

"You look totally 80s chic." Hadley explained. "So have you ever been clubbing before?"

"I don't know if this can really count as a club." I admitted.

"Sure there won't be any alcohol or dirty dancing, but it's still a club." Hadley responded. "I just wish that I had something authentically tacky from the decade like you do. I'm going to have to get creative in trying not to look good and retro."

"You really don't like clothes from the 80s?" I asked in surprise.

"It's not so much that I don't like them, it's that they're from when our parents were growing up." Hadley explained. "I like that we're different from our parents."

I guess in a way that was good. I mean I always hate it in TV shows where they have characters that are pretty much exact clones of their parents. It's really just lazy writing when they can't develop a character past being just like their parents. I'm also glad that I'm not really anything like Mom is.

We walked down to the club and sure enough my least favorite person on the ship was there. I guess since the student lounge was one of his main things, I shouldn't have been that surprised. I began to look for Braxton while trying to avoid eye contact with Devon.

"I'm going to go get us some drinks." Hadley announced. Why did she have to leave me alone with him?

"So you look like you're waiting for someone." Devon remarked as he walked over.

"I have a date." I told him, hoping that he would just go away and also leave me alone.

"Who is it this time?" He asked.

"You act like I'm out with a different guy every night." I pointed out.

"Well I wouldn't say every night, but you do date a lot of guys." He countered. Okay he had me there.

"Okay, that's true, but they're just dates. It's not like I'm having sex with any of those guys." I explained. I didn't need to tell him that, and I probably shouldn't have. "I'm looking for Braxton, but I don't know where he is."

I hope that he wasn't going to stand me up because that would be humiliating.

"Maybe he caught that stomach virus that's going around." Devon suggested. I hadn't thought about that. That would be really bad, especially since I had gone to the trouble to get all dressed up. I didn't even check up on him to see if we were still on.

"That would suck." I commented. I began to sway to the music. I didn't know the song, but it was pretty catchy.

"Ah, _Don't Dream It's Over_ by Crowded House." Devon remarked. "This is a good song."

"I didn't know that you knew 80s music." I remarked with a smile.

"The 80s had some of the best music ever made." He told me. "But this is a song that you just have to dance to. May I?"

I don't know why, but I looked at him and took his hand. I guess it was just nice to have someone to dance with and even if Braxton was sick, it didn't mean that I couldn't have a good time.

I actually felt pretty good in his arms, like I had never felt before. It felt so good. No, as a matter of fact, I felt great as I danced with him.

I then realized that I was wearing the dress that Dad had met Mom in. What did this mean? Did this mean that I could fall in love with him? I abruptly broke apart from him.

"I need to find Hadley and get out of here." I declared. I found her at the bar. She looked like she was still waiting.

"This bartender is so slow." She remarked.

"How about we just forget about it and leave. I don't think that Braxton is coming." I suggested as I grabbed her hands and pulled…possibly dragged her out of the club.

"What the hell?" Hadley asked. "I thought you really wanted to go there."

"I have something that I really need to talk to you about and I kind of want to do it in our room." I explained frantically. She was probably wondering if I was alright as I walked with her back to the room

"Are you alright?" She asked me as soon we got there. Yes, I was right.

"I have a problem." I explained. "I danced with Devon and I liked it. I think that I might like him or something. I'm not supposed to like him. I'm supposed to hate him."

"Why did you dance with him? You were supposed to be waiting for Braxton." Hadley pointed out. She didn't seem very happy about it.

"I know." I replied. "But the song was so catchy that I couldn't help it. Do you think that I want to be attracted to a guy who is an ass? But all I can think about is maybe this is fate. I mean this is the same dress that my mom was wearing when she met my dad. Maybe I should try this out to see where it ends up going."

"Okay I think I want to see where this goes now too." She admitted. "I don't think that it will work, because you two seem to fight a lot and I know isn't good for a relationship, but if you want to give it a try, then you should try it."

"So do you think I should go back?" I asked.

"If you want." She suggested. "But I'm not sure that this is fair to Braxton."

"Well we're not really dating." I pointed out before I went back to the club. Devon was still there, which I expected he would be until closing.

"You're back." He stated.

"Do you want me?" I asked. "Do you like me?"

"Where is this coming from?" He asked in confusion.

"I felt something when I danced with you." I told him. "Can you tell me that you didn't feel it too?"

"Maybe I did, but I'm 22 and you're 17." He pointed out.

"I am aware of how old I am." I argued. "This stuff like age really isn't as important as the world makes it out to be. I'm not asking to jump into your bed or anything. I just want to go out on a date to see if we have potential as an actual couple."

"Fine." Devon agreed. "We can go out on a date."

So this story has new life. I don't know how long that life will last, but it's here now. Sara is with Devon and Claire broke up with Holden.


End file.
